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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a share of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved massive popularity on social media last October, in part due to its smooth R&B singing by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Although its momentum and impending chart entry in the UK and US, the track was later removed by major streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown notices, alleging it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original recording was generated with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This is not only about Jorja. This is larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a public announcement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "both iterations of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's first release, the label added: "Our industry cannot permit this to become the standard practice."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo behind the song have publicly admitted using AI in its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively altered using music-generation software Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

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

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

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

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Implications

Although their first version of 'I Run' was blocked from official charts, the replacement recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a significant precedent for the music industry's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

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

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

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

The post cautioned that musicians and creators were turning into "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are able in establishing that AI assisted to write the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and anxiety for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before revealing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's major largest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to generate songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

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

Just last week, a group of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in opposition to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

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