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The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a portion of royalties from a song it asserts was created using an AI "replica" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on TikTok last October, partly due to its polished soul vocals by an uncredited female singer.

Despite its momentum and potential chart position in the UK and US, the track was subsequently banned by major streaming platforms after industry bodies sent copyright requests, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating 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 programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"The situation isn't just about one artist. It's bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent statement.

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

Known for songs 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 misled by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Using AI Tools

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

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female tone".

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

"It is no secret that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a songwriter and maker, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

"In order to set the facts clear, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the new version did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving relationship with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to speak up" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her own social media page.

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

It further stated that the label would share any potential royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are able in establishing that AI assisted to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, though those legal actions have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the program.

Yet, it remains unclear how many established musicians will consent to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a group of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of empty studios in opposition to proposed changes to copyright law.

They argue these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using protected work without securing a license.