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The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a share of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its polished soul singing by an unnamed woman singer.

Although its success and impending chart position in both UK and US, the track was later banned by major music services after industry bodies issued copyright notices, alleging it breached intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was generated with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now seeking appropriate redress.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. This is bigger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "each iterations of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

Known for hits 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 possibly misled by Haven's original track, the label added: "Our industry must not permit this to become the new normal."

Creators Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The team behind the track have publicly admitted using AI in its production process.

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

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a feminine tone".

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

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

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

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

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Implications

While their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from official rankings, the replacement version managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post warned that artists and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and tech firms towards AI dominance".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a topic of both fascination and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before revealing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily opposed to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

Yet, it remains unclear how a large number of established musicians will agree to such applications of their identity.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to train systems using protected work without obtaining a permission.