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The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a share of royalties from a track it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on TikTok in October, in part due to its polished R&B vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Although its success and potential chart entry in both UK and US, the track was later removed by leading music services after music bodies sent takedown notices, stating it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original version was generated with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"This is not only about one artist. This is bigger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a recent announcement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "both versions of the song infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's first release, the label added: "We must not allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo behind the track have openly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine quality".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and produced the song themselves and have even shared files of their source computer files.

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and maker, I enjoy using new tools, methods and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

Although their original version of 'I Run' was suspended from official rankings, the replacement version did break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the incident as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly exceeding regulation".

"Computer-created content should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they listen to it or not," the statement continued.

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her personal Instagram page.

The text cautioned that artists and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by governments and corporations towards AI dominance".

It further noted that the label would share any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's music.

"If we are able in establishing that AI helped to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before revealing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the industry's three largest record labels, though those cases have now been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the program.

However, it remains unclear how many well-known artists will consent to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of empty studios in opposition to potential changes to copyright law.

They contend these changes would make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without obtaining a permission.