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The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a share of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on social media last October, in part due to its polished soul vocals by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its success and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the song was later removed by major streaming platforms after industry bodies issued takedown notices, alleging it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial version was generated with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Broader Principle in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. This is larger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a public announcement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "both iterations of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's original release, the label added: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Using AI Tools

The team behind the track have openly confirmed using AI in its creation.

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

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female tone".

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

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

"As a creator and maker, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Impact

While their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement version managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

"Computer-created material should be clearly labelled as such so that the audience may decide whether they consume it or not," the message continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a topic of both fascination and anxiety for the music industry.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily averse to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those cases have since been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

However, it is uncertain how a large number of established artists will consent to such applications of their work.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians 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 opposition to potential revisions to copyright law.

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