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The music company representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to receive a portion of earnings from a song it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.

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

Although its success and impending top 40 entry in the UK and US, the song was later removed by leading streaming platforms after industry bodies issued takedown requests, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. It's larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "both iterations of the song violate the artist's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

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

Producers Admit Using AI Technology

The duo behind the track have publicly confirmed using AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial vocals were actually his own but were extensively altered using AI music platform Suno, sometimes referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the second producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and produced the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their original computer files.

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

"As a songwriter and maker, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Implications

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the new recording managed to break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's evolving relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Collateral Victims'

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

The text cautioned that musicians and creators were turning into "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It also noted that the label would distribute any potential royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's music.

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously sued for copyright infringement by the world's major largest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled.

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

However, it is unclear how many well-known artists will consent to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a group of prominent artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in opposition to proposed revisions to copyright law.

They contend these changes would make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without securing a permission.