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The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a share of earnings from a track it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's unique vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved massive popularity on TikTok in October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an uncredited female vocalist.

Although its momentum and impending chart position in both UK and US, the song was later removed by leading streaming platforms after industry bodies sent copyright notices, stating it breached copyright by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original version was made with AI programmed on her body of work and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about one artist. It's larger than one artist or one song," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

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

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

Implying that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "Our industry must not permit this to be the standard practice."

Producers Admit Employing AI Tools

The duo behind the track have openly confirmed utilizing AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original voice were in fact his own but were heavily altered using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female quality".

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

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

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was blocked from major rankings, the replacement recording did break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's evolving relationship with AI.

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and significantly exceeding regulation".

"AI-generated material should be clearly labelled as such so that the audience may choose whether they listen to it or not," the message continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

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

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

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

"If we are successful in proving that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before revealing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, though those cases have now been resolved.

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

However, it is uncertain how many established musicians will agree to such applications of their work.

Recently, a collective of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of empty studios in opposition to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

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