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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a track it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished R&B vocals by an uncredited female vocalist.

Despite its momentum and potential top 40 entry in the UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown notices, stating it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial version was made with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Broader Issue in Play

"This is not only about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each versions of the track infringe on Jorja's rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "We cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The team behind the track have publicly confirmed using AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music software Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the song themselves and have even shared files of their original production sessions.

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

"Being a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement recording did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical precedent for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding regulation".

"AI-generated content should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may choose whether they listen to it or not," the statement continued.

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post cautioned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are able in establishing that AI helped to compose 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 explained.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated 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 accumulated millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's three biggest record labels, though those legal actions have now been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the program.

However, it remains unclear how a large number of established musicians will consent to such applications of their work.

Recently, a collective of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

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