The US Copyright Office opened an investigation into music streaming fraud on Oct. 7, calling for data and public comments on the scope of the problem, existing anti-fraud measures and potential solutions. Comments are due by Nov. 23.
The inquiry gives the federal agency a formal role in a problem that has drawn growing attention from Congress, industry groups and prosecutors as streaming fraud schemes increasingly rely on generative AI.
What The US Copyright Office Is Investigating
The Copyright Office is soliciting information on three fronts: the current extent of music streaming fraud, the anti-fraud efforts already underway in the industry, and ideas for addressing the issue going forward. The public comment period runs through Nov. 23.
The agency launched the inquiry in response to a May letter from Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., who urged the Copyright Office to examine how generative AI can help criminals carry out streaming fraud.
The timing lands one day after Michael Smith was sentenced to federal prison in the first-ever U.S. streaming fraud prosecution. Smith pleaded guilty to using bots to generate billions of streams on songs, many of them AI-generated, earning more than $8 million in fraudulent royalties.
What It Means For Artists And The Streaming Industry
Streaming fraud diverts royalty payments away from legitimate artists and rights holders toward bad actors gaming the system with bots and synthetic tracks. The Smith case showed how large those diversions can get, with more than $8 million in fraudulent royalties tied to a single scheme.
The industry has already organized its own response. The Music Fights Fraud Alliance, a group of U.S. distributors and digital streaming platforms, formed in 2023 to share data and coordinate anti-fraud work. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has also launched a global Streaming Integrity Initiative targeting the same problem.
A formal federal inquiry adds a government layer to those private-sector efforts, giving the Copyright Office a record of industry data and public input it did not previously have on this specific issue.
Context: A Second Inquiry From Rep. Fitzgerald
This is not the first time Fitzgerald has pushed the Copyright Office to act. He previously prompted the agency to open an inquiry into American performance rights organizations in early 2025. That inquiry concluded without any Copyright Office action, and Fitzgerald has since taken his concerns about performance rights organizations to the Federal Trade Commission.
The outcome of that earlier inquiry offers a reference point for how the new streaming fraud probe could unfold, though the sources do not indicate what the Copyright Office plans to do once this comment period closes.
What’s Next
The public comment period on music streaming fraud closes Nov. 23. The Copyright Office has not stated a timeline for concluding its review or issuing recommendations.
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