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The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a portion of royalties from a track it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, achieved massive popularity on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth soul vocals by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its success and impending chart entry in the UK and US, the track was later banned by major streaming platforms after industry organizations sent copyright notices, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial recording was made with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Larger Principle in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. It's larger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a recent statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each iterations of the song infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "We cannot allow this to be the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

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

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were actually his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source computer files.

"It is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and maker, I like experimenting with new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Impact

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

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

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

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

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

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

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

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

"Should we are successful in proving that AI helped to write the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been settled.

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

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

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

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