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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a portion of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's distinctive vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved massive popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its polished R&B singing by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its momentum and impending chart entry in the UK and US, the track was later banned by major streaming platforms after music bodies sent takedown requests, stating it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has now 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 work and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Broader Principle at Stake

"The situation isn't just about one artist. This is bigger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "both iterations of the song violate Jorja's rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all the writers with whom she works."

Known for hits 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 deceived by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "We must not allow this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

The duo behind the track have publicly confirmed using AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were actually his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source computer files.

"This shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a creator and maker, I like experimenting with new tools, methods and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

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

FAMM has framed the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing regulation".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

Smith shared her label's position on her own social media page.

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Growth of AI 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 streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the world's major biggest record labels, though those cases have since been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the program.

However, it is unclear how many well-known musicians will consent to such applications of their identity.

Just last week, a group of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

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