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The music company representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to receive a portion of earnings from a track it asserts was created using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on social media last October, in part due to its polished R&B vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Although its momentum and impending top 40 entry in both UK and US, the song was later removed by major streaming platforms after industry bodies sent takedown notices, alleging it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original recording was made with AI trained on her extensive work and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Broader Principle at Stake

"This is not only about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "each versions of the track infringe on the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "We cannot permit this to be the standard practice."

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

The team responsible for the song have openly confirmed utilizing AI during its creation.

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

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female quality".

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

"This shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and maker, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

"In order to set the record straight, the people behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make great music for fellow humans."

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Implications

Although their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement recording did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical precedent for the music industry's evolving relationship with artificial intelligence.

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

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

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

The post warned that artists and creators were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI dominance".

It also noted that the label would distribute any potential songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's music.

"If we are able in establishing that AI helped to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always averse to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Subsequently, 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 opt in to the service.

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

Just last week, a collective of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in opposition to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

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