4 days ago
A Big, Pending Case Unites and Divides the Music Industry Over Fraud in Streaming
Hello, hello. Welcome back to Soundbite. Yesterday I spent part of the day at a conversation about fraud in the music business. It was partially put together by Katherine C. Reilly, the former head of the complex frauds and cybercrime unit for the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Previously, she helped bring the case against Michael Smith, who is accused of using generative artificial intelligence to make songs and drive streams to them to the tune of $10 million. The results of the case could set a major precedent in the streaming era. Smith's lawyers didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
During the conversation, Reilly gave some backstory on how the case came together, and the audience got a little heated over the current state of fraud prevention in the streaming world. We'll dive in. Also, my calendar is booking up pretty quickly, but if you'll be in New York next week for all the music industry and Tribeca happenings, let me know. I'd love to meet with some more people.
