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The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a share of earnings from a song it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained massive traction on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished soul vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Despite its momentum and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading music services after industry organizations issued copyright requests, alleging it breached copyright by impersonating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original recording was made with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue in Play

"This is not only about Jorja. This is bigger than one artist or a single track," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "both iterations of the song violate Jorja's rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output 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 possibly misled by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The team responsible for the track have publicly admitted using AI in its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were extensively altered using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female quality".

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

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

"As a creator and producer, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he added.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

Although their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's changing relationship with AI.

The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

Smith shared her label's statement on her own social media page.

The text cautioned that musicians and creators were becoming "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

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

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI helped to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a topic of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously sued for alleged violations by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have now been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a partnership with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the service.

Yet, it remains uncertain how many well-known artists will agree to such uses of their work.

Recently, a collective of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in opposition to proposed revisions to copyright law.

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