Ain't Nothing The Real Thing

What if the song that went viral last week was purchased? And what if the royalties you didn't earn from it were stolen on top of that? In Episode 9, Raia Kumar tracks four stories — manufactured virality, the first federal AI streaming fraud conviction, a billion-dollar funding round mid-lawsuit, and a landmark bill that could finally give independent songwriters a legal seat at the table.

In this episode:

• Labels are paying regular people around forty dollars per one hundred views to create short-form videos using specific tracks — manufacturing what the algorithm reads as organic momentum. Trevor Noah said it out loud. The industry has known for years.
• Michael Smith, 54, of North Carolina pleaded guilty on March 19, 2026 to using AI to generate hundreds of thousands of songs and bots to fake billions of streams — collecting over ten million dollars in royalties that belonged to working musicians. He is the first person in American history convicted of a federal crime for AI-assisted music streaming fraud. The key legal distinction: the crime wasn't AI music. The crime was manufacturing the audience.
• Suno closed a four hundred million dollar funding round this week — valuation five point four billion dollars, more than double seven months ago — while actively being sued by major labels for copyright infringement. Their new AI model is "built in partnership with the music industry," which turns out to mean a deal with Warner Music Group. One major label. Not independent songwriters.
• Within 72 hours of each other, Suno and Udio filed nearly identical motions to seal the same piece of information in their separate federal cases: the total number of audio files each company used to train their AI. The argument is trade secret protection. The effect, if granted, is that the most important number in determining the scope of copyright damages may be permanently hidden.
• On June 1, the Artists Rights Alliance launched a national campaign behind the Protect Working Musicians Act, reintroduced by Representative Deborah Ross of North Carolina. The bill would give independent musicians an antitrust exemption — the legal right to collectively negotiate with AI companies and streaming platforms. That right does not currently exist.
• What is your organization's position on the Protect Working Musicians Act, and are you in contact with Representative Ross's office?

  0:00 | Cold Open | The purchased song. The stolen royalties. The thesis.
  0:30 | Welcome | Raia opens the episode. June 4. Four stories, one thread.
  0:50 | Story 1: Labels Buy Virality | Trevor Noah's clip. Labels paying ~$40/100 views for short-form videos. What that means for independent artists competing against marketing spend.
  2:15 | Story 2: The First Conviction | Michael Smith guilty plea. AI-generated songs + streaming bots. $10M stolen. The legal distinction that defines what comes next.
  3:45 | Story 3: The Money & the Cover | Suno's $400M raise at $5.4B. The Warner Music Group deal. Suno and Udio's near-identical motions to seal training data volume in federal court.
  5:15 | Story 4: The Response | Artists Rights Alliance launches Protect Working Musicians Act campaign. Rep. Deborah Ross. What the bill does. The CTA for independent artists.
  6:15 | Closing | The frameworks being built now are being built without independent creators at the table.

• (00:00) - Cold Open
• (00:30) - Welcome
• (00:50) - Labels Buy Virality
• (02:15) - The First Conviction
• (03:45) - The Money & the Cover
• (05:15) - The Response
• (06:15) - Closing