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The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a portion of royalties from a song it asserts was created using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the performer's distinctive vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Although its momentum and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the track was later removed by leading streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown requests, alleging it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the initial version was generated with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation isn't just about Jorja. This is bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent announcement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "each iterations of the song infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's first track, the label added: "Our industry cannot allow this to be the standard practice."

Creators Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

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

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the music themselves and have even shared evidence of their original production sessions.

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

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy using innovative technologies, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Implications

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

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical precedent for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with AI.

The label stated it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

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

The text cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

It also stated that the label would share any potential songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are successful in proving that AI helped to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the world's major biggest record labels, but those cases have since been settled.

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

Yet, it is unclear how many established artists will consent to such applications of their work.

Recently, a collective of renowned musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in protest to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

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