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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 claims was created using an AI "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved massive traction on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth R&B vocals by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Despite its success and potential chart entry in both UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading music services after industry bodies sent copyright notices, alleging it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was made with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Broader Principle in Play

"This is not only about one artist. This is bigger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a public announcement.

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

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

Suggesting that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's first release, the label added: "We cannot permit this to become the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The duo responsible for the song have openly admitted using AI during its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music software Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine quality".

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

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal editing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"As a songwriter and producer, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, techniques and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," he added.

"In order 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."

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Implications

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

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing regulation".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own Instagram profile.

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

It also stated that the label would share any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily averse to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for alleged violations by the world's major biggest record labels, though those legal actions have now been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the service.

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

Recently, a collective of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or audio of empty studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

They argue these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to train systems using copyrighted work without securing a license.