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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a share of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the performer's unique vocal style.

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

Although its momentum and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by major streaming platforms after music organizations issued copyright notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the original recording was made with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about one artist. It's larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent announcement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "both versions of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

Famous for hits like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was crowned Best British Female at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.

Suggesting that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's original track, the label added: "Our industry cannot allow this to be the standard practice."

Creators Admit Using AI Tools

The team responsible for the song have publicly admitted using AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine quality".

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

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

"As a songwriter and maker, I enjoy using innovative technologies, methods and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Impact

While their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the new recording managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the incident as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving relationship with AI.

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"Computer-created content should be transparently labelled as such so that the audience may decide whether they consume it or not," the statement added.

Artists as 'Collateral Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her personal Instagram page.

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

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

"Should we are able in establishing that AI assisted to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a source of both interest and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, showing that listeners are not always averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the world's major largest record labels, though those cases have now been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

Yet, it is unclear how many established musicians will consent to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a collective of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to copyright law.

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