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

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its polished soul vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Despite its momentum and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by major music services after industry bodies issued takedown requests, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been re-released with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was generated with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now seeking financial redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This is not only about Jorja. This is larger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

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

Known 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 original track, the label added: "We must not allow this to be the standard practice."

Producers Admit Employing AI Tools

The duo behind the song have publicly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

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

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a feminine tone".

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

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

"As a creator and maker, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he added.

"To set the record clear, the people behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Implications

Although their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement version did break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a significant test case for the music industry's changing interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated content should be transparently labelled as such so that the audience may choose whether they listen to it or not," the statement added.

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

Smith shared her label's statement on her own social media page.

The text cautioned that musicians and creators were becoming "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It further stated that the label would distribute any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are able in proving that AI assisted to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and anxiety for the music industry.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the industry's three biggest record labels, but those cases have now been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the company, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

Yet, it is uncertain how many well-known artists will consent to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of empty studios in opposition to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these changes would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using protected work without securing a license.