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The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a portion of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the singer's unique vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed female singer.

Although its momentum and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by major streaming platforms after music bodies sent takedown requests, alleging it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial recording was generated with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Broader Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about one artist. It's bigger than one artist or a single track," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "both iterations of the song violate Jorja's rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "Our industry must not allow this to be the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Tools

The duo behind the song have publicly confirmed utilizing AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were extensively altered using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their source computer files.

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal editing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and producer, I like using innovative technologies, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

"To set the facts clear, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we want to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Implications

Although their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the new recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to speak up" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and substantially exceeding regulation".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

The text warned that artists and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

It further noted that the label would share any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are able in establishing that AI helped to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's three largest record labels, though those legal actions have now been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the service.

Yet, it remains uncertain how many well-known musicians will agree to such uses of their work.

Recently, a group of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in opposition to proposed revisions to copyright law.

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