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The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a portion of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Despite its momentum and impending chart position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading music services after industry organizations issued copyright requests, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original recording was made with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Broader Principle at Stake

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

FAMM further stated its view that "each iterations of the song violate Jorja's rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "Our industry must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The duo behind the song have openly admitted using AI in its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation software Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the song themselves and have even provided evidence of their source computer files.

"This is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a creator and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, methods and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their original version of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the new version did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the incident as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly exceeding legal oversight".

"Computer-created material should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they listen to it or not," the message added.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

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

It further stated that the label would distribute any potential songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's music.

"If we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that listeners are not always opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those cases have now been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the program.

Yet, it is unclear how many established musicians will agree to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in protest to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

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