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The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a share of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on social media in October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an uncredited female vocalist.

Although its success and impending top 40 entry in the UK and US, the song was later removed by major streaming platforms after industry bodies sent takedown requests, stating it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

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

A Larger Principle in Play

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

FAMM further stated its view that "both versions of the song violate the artist's rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially misled by Haven's original release, the label added: "We cannot permit this to be the standard practice."

Creators Admit Using AI Tools

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

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and produced the song themselves and have even shared evidence of their original production sessions.

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

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

"In order to set the facts clear, the artists behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we want to do is make great music for other humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the new recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

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

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

"AI-generated content should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the message continued.

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

Smith shared her label's position on her personal Instagram profile.

The text cautioned that artists and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

It further stated that the label would distribute any potential royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's music.

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, though those cases have since been resolved.

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

Yet, it remains unclear how many well-known musicians will consent to such uses of their work.

Recently, a collective 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 empty studios in opposition to proposed revisions to copyright law.

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