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The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished R&B vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Despite its success and impending chart position in both UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by major music services after industry bodies issued takedown requests, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original recording was made with AI trained on her body of work and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. This is bigger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM also stated its view that "each iterations of the track violate the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

Known for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was crowned Best British Female at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.

Implying that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "We must not permit this to be the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Tools

The team responsible for the song have openly confirmed using AI in its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were actually his own but were extensively altered using music-generation platform Suno, often referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the song themselves and have even provided evidence of their original computer files.

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

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

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the replacement version managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the music industry's changing relationship with AI.

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

"Computer-created content should be transparently identified as such so that the public may choose whether they listen to it or not," the statement continued.

Artists as 'Collateral Damage'

Smith shared her label's statement on her personal Instagram profile.

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

It further noted that the label would distribute any potential royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are successful in proving that AI assisted to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for alleged violations by the world's major largest record labels, though those cases have now been resolved.

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

Yet, it remains unclear how many well-known artists will consent to such applications of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in protest to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to develop systems using copyrighted work without obtaining a permission.