U.S. Copyright Office Opens Music Streaming Fraud Inquiry

The U.S. Copyright Office has launched an investigation into one of the music industry’s biggest problems: streaming fraud.

In a Wednesday (Oct. 7) notice in the Federal Register, the Copyright Office said it is soliciting data and suggestions that “may contribute to Congress’s understanding of streaming fraud, current efforts to curb this problem and potential solutions.” Public comments are due Nov. 23.

The Copyright Office is opening the inquiry in response to a letter sent this past May by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.). The congressman, who previously led efforts to encourage a government investigation into U.S. performance rights organizations (PROs), said in this letter that the Copyright Office should specifically examine the ways “generative AI can serve as a catalyst for criminals to perpetrate streaming fraud.”

Streaming fraud, or the use of artificial means to boost digital song plays, has long been a thorn in the music industry’s side. Since digital service providers (DSPs) divvy up royalties to rightsholders out of a fixed pool, fake plays siphon off money that artists, songwriters and music companies would otherwise get for real streams.

This problem has only been made worse in recent years, as AI music generators now enable bad actors to churn out huge amounts of songs for these schemes (a recent report by French music service Deezer found that up to 85% of streams on fully AI-generated tracks in 2025 were fraudulent). The development of agentic AI has also scaled bot farms to more easily play songs on repeat.

The Copyright Office’s notice of inquiry asks to see all kinds of data about streaming fraud: what types of schemes are most prevalent, how significant are the economic impacts and how has AI contributed to the problem? The government body also wants to hear from stakeholders about how the issue can best be combatted – and notably, whether a solution should come from Congressional legislation.

Major players in the music industry have launched a number of internal initiatives in recent years to tackle streaming fraud. This includes the Music Fights Fraud Alliance (MFFA), in which U.S. distributors and DSPs banded together in 2023 to share data and coordinate anti-fraud efforts, as well as a recent global Streaming Integrity Initiative led by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Another option for combatting the issue, although rarer, is criminal prosecution. Just one day before the Copyright Office sent out its notice of inquiry, a man named Michael Smith was sentenced to federal prison in the first-ever U.S. streaming fraud prosecution. Smith pled guilty earlier this year to using bots to generate billions of streams on his songs, many of them AI-generated, earning more than $8 million in fraudulent royalties.  

Wednesday’s notice is not the first time the Copyright Office has probed the music industry at the urging of Rep. Fitzgerald. In early 2025, the office opened an inquiry into American PROs after the congressman flagged concerns about transparency and the number of new organizations popping up. This inquiry ultimately concluded without any Copyright Office action, and Fitzgerald has since taken his fight to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).