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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a portion of royalties from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok in October, in part due to its polished R&B vocals by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Although its success and potential chart position in both UK and US, the song was later banned by major streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown notices, stating it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial version was generated with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. This is bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM further expressed its view that "both versions of the track infringe on Jorja's rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "We must not permit this to be the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

The team responsible for the track have openly admitted using AI in its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, often referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine quality".

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

"This is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Impact

While their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the new recording did break into the UK Top 40 recently.

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

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

The post warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It further noted that the label would share any potential songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's music.

"If we are successful in proving that AI assisted to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a topic of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that listeners are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the world's three largest record labels, though those cases have now been resolved.

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

However, it remains uncertain how a large number of well-known musicians will agree to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a group of renowned musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

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