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The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a share of earnings from a song it asserts was created using an AI "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on TikTok in October, in part due to its smooth R&B singing by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Although its success and impending top 40 entry in both UK and US, the song was later removed by leading music services after industry organizations issued copyright notices, alleging it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original version was generated with AI trained on her extensive work and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. This is bigger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM further expressed its view that "both iterations of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "We must not permit this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The team behind the track have openly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the initial voice were actually his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music software Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

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

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

"It is no secret that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and producer, I like using innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

"To set the record straight, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and people, and all we aim to do is make great music for other humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Implications

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

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's changing 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 outpacing legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

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

The post cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and tech firms towards AI dominance".

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

"If we are able in establishing that AI helped to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators 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 fascination and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not always opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, but those cases have since been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the program.

However, it is unclear how many established musicians will consent to such applications of their identity.

Just last week, a group of renowned musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in opposition to potential revisions to copyright law.

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