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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a portion of royalties from a song it asserts was created using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, gained massive traction on social media in October, partly due to its smooth R&B singing by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Despite its momentum and potential chart entry in the UK and US, the track was subsequently banned by leading music services after music organizations issued takedown notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Broader Issue at Stake

"The situation isn't just about Jorja. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "both iterations of the song infringe on the artist's rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

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

Producers Admit Employing AI Technology

The team behind the track have openly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were actually his own but were extensively altered using AI music platform Suno, sometimes referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female tone".

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

"It is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and producer, I like experimenting with new tools, methods and remaining on the forefront of industry trends," he continued.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

Although their original version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the new version did break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the music industry's changing interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding regulation".

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

Artists as 'Collateral Damage'

Smith shared her label's position on her personal Instagram profile.

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

It further noted that the label would share any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before revealing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the world's three largest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the program.

Yet, it is unclear how a large number of well-known artists will agree to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of quiet studios in opposition to potential revisions to copyright law.

They contend these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without securing a permission.