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The record label representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a portion of royalties from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the singer's distinctive vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved widespread popularity on social media last October, in part due to its polished soul vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Although its momentum and impending chart position in both UK and US, the track was later banned by leading streaming platforms after music organizations sent takedown notices, alleging it breached copyright by impersonating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Broader Issue at Stake

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

FAMM also stated its view that "both iterations of the song infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "Our industry must not allow this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The team responsible for the song have openly confirmed using AI in its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were actually his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the second member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source production sessions.

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

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

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Implications

While their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the new version did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode 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 public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and significantly exceeding legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Collateral Damage'

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

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI dominance".

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

"Should we are able in proving that AI assisted to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would aim to assign 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 topic of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that audiences are not always averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those cases have since been settled.

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

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

Just last week, a group of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing silent songs or recordings of empty studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

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