[phire]

This conviction has nothing to do with uploading AI generated music. The illegal part was using tens-of-thousands of bot accounts to listen to them (and the ads) generating fraudulent revenue for himself.

This is just the same old view botting (aka click fraud) that has been going on for decades. The AI generated music aspect is irrelevant.

Click fraud is cut and dry wire fraud: Using electronic communications to deceptively steal money or property.

[endofreach]

"I am using AI agents to enjoy music while I sleep, so I don't have to".

This guy is a visionary, the judges just don't get it.

[indubioprorubik]

He is economic growth incarnated.

[zombot]

You mean incarcerated.

[randyrand]

In click fraud, it's the platform company defrauding the ads purchasers, by claiming the clicks are legit.

All this guy did was break TOS, and find a broken business model. No fraud. Should have found a lawyer.

[petesergeant]

> Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice

It’s wire fraud

[randyrand]

Not it’s not. Creating fake accounts and instructing them to listen to music does not generate any money. The actual money generation, the actual fraud, was carried out on his behalf when the platform claimed the listens were real and charged the advertisers for it.

Under the letter of the law, this is just a TOS violation.

[pocksuppet]

What were the false or fradulent pretenses, representations, or promises?

[barrkel]

A false representation of user interest

[pocksuppet]

by accessing something on the internet with curl do I falsely represent using a browser?

[potsandpans]

Are you a lawyer?

[gmerc]

Should have used OpenClaw and they’d given him investment instead

[Imustaskforhelp]

Or perhaps OpenAI/AI startups would've even hired the guy too

[hackingonempty]

> This conviction has nothing to do with uploading AI generated music

He probably estimated the company would have noticed quickly if the fake listens were concentrated into a handful of real tracks. So machine generated audio was necessary to achieve the scale without detection.

[6stringmerc]

Right and it going on for years and based on his blatant communications, there was a minimal fraud control - deliberate indifference in my opinion - to the harm caused by the services exploited.

You don’t have a stake in this game, I do.

Indie rights holders like me only get a slice of the revenues after Spotify pays like 75% to the RIAA firms. He gutted our pool. I’ll never see any of the pennies I’m rightfully owed even with great info from DistroKid.

I’ve come around. Copyright is dead, effectively. Just in time too. I WAS planning to sue Smart Communications for engaging in wholesale copyright infringement at scale, as they have unauthorized copies of poetry I wrote in jail - I have proof and trapped an asshole ex cop working for them into admitting they did what I suspected - but I’m moving on with life, still wounded, still sore.

Oh well, much bigger things are coming my way than worrying about money. Little people stand on piles of money to look big. They will never be able to look me eye to eye, as I’m a giraffe by comparison.

Facts.

[pocksuppet]

How is it stealing when they sent you the money?

[slopinthebag]

How is fraud stealing?