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

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok in October, in part due to its smooth soul singing by an unnamed female singer.

Although its success and potential chart position in the UK and US, the song was later banned by leading streaming platforms after industry bodies sent copyright notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

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

A Broader Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. This is bigger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "each versions of the track violate the artist's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "Our industry must not allow this to be the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo responsible for the track have publicly confirmed using AI during its creation.

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

In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine tone".

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

"It is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a songwriter and maker, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, methods 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 people, and all we aim to do is make great music for other humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement version managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical test case for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with AI.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated content should be transparently labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the message added.

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post warned that musicians and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI dominance".

It further stated that the label would share any awarded royalties with the collaborators 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 every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, though those legal actions have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

Yet, it is unclear how a large number of well-known artists will consent to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

They contend these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without securing a license.