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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to receive a portion of royalties from a song it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's distinctive vocal style.

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

Although its success and potential top 40 position in both UK and US, the track was later removed by major music services after music organizations issued takedown requests, alleging it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

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

A Broader Principle at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. This is bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "both versions of the song infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from 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 annual Brit Awards in 2019.

Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's first release, the label added: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

The team responsible for the track have publicly admitted using AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music platform Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even provided files of their source production sessions.

"This shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal editing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and producer, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

"In order to set the record clear, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we want to do is make great music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the new recording did break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the incident as a significant test case for the music industry's changing relationship with AI.

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

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

Smith shared her label's statement on her personal social media page.

The text cautioned that musicians and creators were becoming "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

It also noted that the label would share any awarded songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's music.

"Should we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Growth of AI Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's three biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been resolved.

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

Yet, it remains uncertain how many established musicians will agree to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without securing a license.