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The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a portion of earnings from a track it claims was created using an AI "clone" of the performer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on social media in October, in part due to its polished soul singing by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its momentum and impending top 40 entry in the UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading streaming platforms after industry bodies issued takedown requests, stating it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been re-released with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was made with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Broader Issue at Stake

"The situation is not only about one artist. This is larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "both versions of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's first track, the label added: "Our industry must not permit this to be the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

The team behind the song have openly admitted using AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were actually his own but were heavily manipulated using AI music software Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

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

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

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

"As a creator and producer, I enjoy using new tools, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Implications

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a critical precedent for the entertainment sector's evolving interaction with AI.

The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and significantly outpacing regulation".

"AI-generated material should be transparently identified as such so that the audience may choose whether they listen to it or not," the message continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

The text warned that artists and creators were becoming "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are successful in proving that AI assisted to write the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the industry's three biggest record labels, though those cases have since been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

However, it is uncertain how many well-known artists will agree to such applications of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of renowned musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of empty studios in protest to proposed revisions to intellectual property regulations.

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