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The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a share of earnings from a song it asserts was created using an AI "clone" of the performer's unique vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained massive traction on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished R&B vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Although its momentum and potential chart position in the UK and US, the track was later removed by major music services after music organizations issued takedown notices, stating it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

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

A Broader Issue at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. It's larger than one artist or a single track," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM further stated its view that "both versions of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the songwriters with whom she works."

Known 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 fans were potentially misled by Haven's first release, the label added: "We cannot permit this to be the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The team responsible for the song have openly confirmed using AI during its production process.

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

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a feminine quality".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their original computer files.

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, methods and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Implications

While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement version managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"Computer-created content should be transparently identified as such so that the audience may choose whether they listen to it or not," the statement added.

Artists as 'Collateral Victims'

Smith shared her label's position on her personal social media page.

The text warned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI dominance".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI assisted to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a source of both fascination and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before revealing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled.

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

However, it remains uncertain how many established artists will agree to such applications of their work.

Just last week, a collective of renowned musicians 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 protest to proposed revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using protected work without obtaining a permission.