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The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a portion of royalties from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained massive traction on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth soul vocals by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Although its momentum and potential top 40 entry in the UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by leading streaming platforms after music bodies issued copyright notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was made with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. This is bigger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a recent statement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "both iterations of the track violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's original track, the label added: "We cannot permit this to be the standard practice."

Producers Admit Using AI Tools

The team responsible for the track have openly admitted utilizing AI during its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were actually his own but were heavily manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their original computer files.

"This is no mystery that I used AI-powered vocal editing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

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

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Implications

While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the replacement version managed to break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical test case for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

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

"Computer-created material should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the statement added.

Artists as 'Collateral Damage'

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

The post cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI assisted to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, though those cases have since been resolved.

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

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

Recently, a group of prominent artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to proposed revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to develop systems using protected work without obtaining a license.