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The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to receive a portion of royalties 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, achieved widespread traction on social media last October, in part due to its smooth soul vocals by an uncredited woman singer.

Although its momentum and impending chart entry in the UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading streaming platforms after music bodies sent takedown notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"The situation is not only about Jorja. This is larger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a recent statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "both versions of the track violate Jorja's rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's original release, the label added: "We cannot allow this to become the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The duo responsible for the song have publicly confirmed utilizing AI in its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were in fact his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their original computer files.

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

"Being a songwriter and maker, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Implications

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

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

The label stated it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated content should be transparently identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they listen to it or not," the message added.

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

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

The post warned that artists and creators were becoming "collateral damage in the race by policymakers and tech firms 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 compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the world's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the service.

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

Recently, a group of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in opposition to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

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