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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 song it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique voice.

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

Although its success and potential top 40 position in both UK and US, the song was later banned by leading streaming platforms after music bodies issued copyright notices, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the initial recording was generated with AI programmed on her extensive work and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Larger Principle in Play

"This is not only about one artist. This is larger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "each iterations of the track infringe on the artist's rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her supporters were possibly misled by Haven's original track, the label added: "Our industry must not allow this to be the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The duo behind the song have openly confirmed utilizing AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were actually his own but were heavily manipulated using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a feminine quality".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their original computer files.

"It shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-powered vocal processing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and producer, I like using new tools, techniques and remaining on the forefront of industry trends," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the new version did break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and substantially exceeding 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 endorsed her label's position on her personal social media profile.

The text cautioned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI helped to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a topic of both interest and anxiety for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for alleged violations by the world's major largest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

However, it remains unclear how many well-known artists will agree to such applications 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 containing tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without securing a permission.