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

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved massive popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its polished R&B singing by an uncredited female vocalist.

Although its momentum and potential top 40 entry in the UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by major music services after music bodies issued takedown notices, stating it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the initial recording was generated with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Broader Principle at Stake

"The situation isn't just about one artist. It's bigger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "both versions of the track infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "We cannot allow this to be the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

The duo responsible for the song have publicly admitted utilizing AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using music-generation software Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and produced the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their source production sessions.

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

"Being a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Impact

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

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's evolving relationship with AI.

The label stated it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly exceeding regulation".

"Computer-created material should be transparently identified as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the statement continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

Smith shared her label's statement on her personal Instagram page.

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

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

"Should we are successful in proving that AI assisted to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a topic of both interest and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the world's three largest record labels, though those cases have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the service.

However, it remains unclear how a large number of well-known musicians will consent to such uses of their work.

Recently, a collective of prominent artists 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 protest to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

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