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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 song it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

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

Although its momentum and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by major streaming platforms after industry organizations issued takedown requests, stating it breached copyright by impersonating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial recording was generated with AI programmed on her extensive work and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This is not only about one artist. This is larger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a public statement.

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

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

Suggesting that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Tools

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

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

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their original production sessions.

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

"Being a songwriter and producer, I like experimenting with new tools, methods and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," 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 fellow humans."

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Implications

While their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical precedent for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

"Computer-created content should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may choose whether they consume it or not," the message added.

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her own Instagram profile.

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

It also stated that the label would distribute any potential songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI helped to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Last month, 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 last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's three biggest record labels, but those cases have now been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

Yet, it remains unclear how a large number of established musicians will agree to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a group of renowned musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to copyright law.

They argue these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to train systems using copyrighted work without securing a license.