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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth soul vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Despite its success and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was later removed by major streaming platforms after industry bodies issued copyright notices, alleging it violated copyright by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was generated with AI trained on her extensive work and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Larger Principle in Play

"This is not only about Jorja. It's larger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "both iterations of the track violate the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

Famous for songs 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 misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "We must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The duo responsible for the track have publicly confirmed using AI during its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music software Suno, often referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the second producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and produced the song themselves and have even shared evidence of their original computer files.

"This shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and remaining 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 want to do is make great music for other humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Impact

While their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the new recording did break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical precedent for the music industry's evolving interaction with AI.

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

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

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

The post cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are successful in establishing that AI helped to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to aid develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not always averse to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who agree to the program.

Yet, it remains uncertain how many well-known musicians will consent to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a group of renowned musicians 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 proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to develop systems using copyrighted work without obtaining a permission.