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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to receive a share of royalties from a song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the performer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished soul singing by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its momentum and impending chart position in the UK and US, the track was later banned by major music services after music bodies sent copyright notices, stating it breached copyright by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now seeking financial redress.

A Larger Issue in Play

"This isn't just about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a public announcement.

FAMM further expressed its view that "both iterations of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

Famous for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was named British Female Solo Artist at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.

Suggesting that her supporters were potentially misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Tools

The team behind the track have openly confirmed using AI in its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were heavily altered using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their source production sessions.

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

"Being a creator and producer, I like using new tools, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of what's happening," he added.

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Implications

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from official rankings, the replacement recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical precedent for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and substantially outpacing regulation".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own Instagram page.

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It further stated that the label would share any awarded royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's music.

"Should we are successful in proving that AI helped to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, showing that listeners are not always opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major largest record labels, though those cases have now been settled.

Subsequently, 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 opt in to the service.

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

Recently, a group of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in protest to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without securing a license.