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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a portion of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the singer's distinctive vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its polished soul vocals by an uncredited female singer.

Despite its momentum and potential chart entry in the UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by leading streaming platforms after industry bodies sent copyright notices, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial version was generated with AI trained on her extensive work and is now seeking financial redress.

A Larger Principle in Play

"This is not only about Jorja. It's larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a public announcement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "both versions of the track infringe on the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially misled by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Admit Using AI Technology

The duo behind the track have openly confirmed utilizing AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were actually his own but were extensively altered using music-generation software Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their original production sessions.

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

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy 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 real and human, and all we want to do is make great music for other humans."

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Implications

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the new version managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a significant precedent for the music industry's evolving relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "an obligation to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own Instagram page.

The text cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It also noted that the label would share any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

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

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for alleged violations by the industry's three biggest record labels, though those cases have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the service.

However, it remains uncertain how many well-known musicians will consent to such applications of their work.

Just last week, a collective of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in opposition to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

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