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The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a share of royalties from a track it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's unique voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth soul singing by an uncredited female vocalist.

Although its success and impending chart position in both UK and US, the track was later banned by major streaming platforms after music bodies sent takedown notices, stating it breached intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was generated with AI trained on her body of work and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Larger Principle in Play

"The situation is not only about one artist. This is larger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "both versions of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

Famous for hits like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was crowned Best British Female at the annual Brit Awards in 2019.

Suggesting that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's original track, the label added: "Our industry cannot permit this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Tools

The duo behind the song have openly admitted utilizing AI in its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using AI music software Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they wrote and created the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their original production sessions.

"This shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a creator and producer, I like using innovative technologies, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

"In order to set the record straight, the people behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we aim to do is make great music for fellow humans."

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Implications

Although their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the replacement version managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's evolving relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding regulation".

"Computer-created content should be transparently identified as such so that the public may decide whether they consume it or not," the statement continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her personal Instagram profile.

The post warned that artists and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

It also noted that the label would distribute any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's music.

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a topic of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the world's three biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the service.

However, it is uncertain how a large number of established musicians will consent to such applications of their work.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in protest to proposed revisions to copyright law.

They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to develop systems using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.