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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a portion of royalties from a song it claims was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained widespread popularity on social media last October, in part due to its polished soul vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Despite its success and potential chart position in the UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by major music services after music bodies issued copyright requests, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was generated with AI trained on her extensive work and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Larger Principle in Play

"This isn't just about Jorja. This is bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a public announcement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "each versions of the song infringe on the artist's rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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 supporters were potentially misled by Haven's first release, the label added: "We cannot allow this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The team responsible for the song have publicly admitted utilizing AI during its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music platform Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their source computer files.

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

"Being a creator and producer, I like using new tools, techniques and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he added.

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

While their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from official rankings, the replacement recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Collateral Victims'

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

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before revealing they used AI to aid develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always averse to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major largest record labels, but those cases have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the service.

However, it remains unclear how many established artists will agree 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 empty studios in protest to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

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