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The record label representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved massive popularity on TikTok in October, partly due to its smooth R&B vocals by an uncredited female singer.

Although its momentum and impending chart position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by major streaming platforms after industry organizations issued takedown requests, stating it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has now been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the original recording was generated with AI programmed on her body of work and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. It's larger than one artist or one song," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each iterations of the track violate the artist's rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she works."

Known for hits 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 misled by Haven's original track, the label added: "We must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The team behind the song have openly admitted utilizing AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original voice were actually his own but were heavily altered using AI music platform Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the second member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the music themselves and have even shared evidence of their source production sessions.

"It is no mystery that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and maker, I like using new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he added.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Impact

While their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the new recording did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with AI.

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

"Computer-created material should be transparently identified as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the message continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

The text cautioned that artists and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

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

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the world's major largest record labels, but those legal actions have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the service.

Yet, it is uncertain how a large number of well-known musicians will consent to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a group of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

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