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The record label representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a portion of royalties from a song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the performer's distinctive vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, achieved widespread traction on social media last October, in part due to its polished soul singing by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Despite its momentum and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by leading music services after music bodies sent copyright requests, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial version was generated with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now seeking financial redress.

A Broader Principle in Play

"This isn't just about Jorja. It's larger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM also stated its view that "each iterations of the track violate the artist'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 named British Female Solo Artist at the annual Brit Awards in 2019.

Suggesting that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "We cannot permit this to be the new normal."

Creators Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The team responsible for the track have publicly confirmed using AI in its production process.

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

In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female tone".

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

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

"As a creator and producer, I like using new tools, methods and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the new version managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the incident as a significant test case for the music industry's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

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

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

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI helped to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before revealing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not always opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the industry's three largest record labels, but those cases have now been settled.

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

However, it remains uncertain how a large number of established musicians will consent to such applications of their work.

Just last week, a group of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of empty studios in opposition to potential changes to copyright law.

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