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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a portion of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on social media last October, in part due to its polished soul singing by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Although its momentum and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by major streaming platforms after industry bodies sent takedown requests, stating it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was generated with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This is not only about one artist. It's larger than one artist or one song," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "each versions of the track violate Jorja's rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "We cannot permit this to become the new normal."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Tools

The team behind the song have publicly admitted utilizing AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using AI music software Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the song themselves and have even shared evidence of their source production sessions.

"This is no secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and maker, I like experimenting with new tools, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a significant precedent for the music industry's changing interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing regulation".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her own social media profile.

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

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

"If we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, though those legal actions have now been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will enable users to generate songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who agree to the service.

Yet, it remains uncertain how many well-known artists will consent to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a group of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to train systems using protected work without obtaining a permission.