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The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a share of earnings from a song it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished soul singing by an uncredited female vocalist.

Despite its momentum and potential chart position in the UK and US, the song was later banned by major streaming platforms after industry organizations issued copyright notices, stating it breached copyright by impersonating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was generated with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking financial redress.

A Larger Principle in Play

"The situation isn't just about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "both versions of the song infringe on the artist's rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she works."

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

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

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The team responsible for the track have publicly admitted utilizing AI during its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were extensively altered using AI music platform Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female quality".

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

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and maker, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he added.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Implications

While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement version managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

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

"Computer-created content should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may decide whether they consume it or not," the message continued.

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

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

The post warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the competition by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

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

"Should we are able in establishing that AI assisted to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a topic of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for alleged violations by the industry's three largest record labels, though those legal actions have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will enable users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who opt in to the service.

However, it is uncertain how a large number of well-known artists will agree to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a collective of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of empty studios in protest to potential revisions to copyright law.

They contend these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using protected work without obtaining a permission.