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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 song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the performer's unique vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth R&B singing by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Although its success and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the track was later removed by major streaming platforms after music bodies sent copyright requests, stating it breached copyright by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial version was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"The situation is not only about one artist. This is larger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "each iterations of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of 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.

Implying that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "Our industry must not allow this to be the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

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

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

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine quality".

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

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal editing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

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

"To set the facts clear, the artists behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we want to do is make great music for fellow humans."

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their original version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement recording managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

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

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated material should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they consume it or not," the message continued.

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own social media page.

The post cautioned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It further stated that the label would distribute any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's music.

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

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a source of both fascination and anxiety for the music industry.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was previously sued for copyright infringement by the world's three largest record labels, though those legal actions have since been settled.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the service.

Yet, it is uncertain how a large number of well-known artists will agree to such applications of their work.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential revisions to copyright law.

They argue these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to train systems using copyrighted work without securing a permission.