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The record label representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a portion of earnings from a track it claims was created using an AI "replica" of the singer's distinctive vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, achieved massive traction on TikTok in October, partly due to its smooth soul vocals by an uncredited woman vocalist.

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

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was made with AI programmed on her extensive work and is now seeking financial redress.

A Larger Principle in Play

"The situation is not only about one artist. It's bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each iterations of the track infringe on the artist's rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

Famous for hits like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was named British Female Solo Artist at the annual 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 Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

The duo behind the track have openly admitted using AI in its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using AI music platform Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a female tone".

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

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

"Being a creator and maker, I like using innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Implications

While their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the new version managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

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

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

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

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

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

"Should we are able 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 assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before revealing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, but those cases have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

Yet, it is unclear how a large number of established artists will agree to such uses of their work.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in opposition to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.