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The music company representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a song it asserts was created using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on social media in October, partly due to its polished R&B vocals by an uncredited female singer.

Despite its momentum and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was later banned by leading streaming platforms after music organizations sent copyright requests, stating it violated copyright by impersonating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was generated with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now seeking financial redress.

A Broader Issue at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label stated in a recent announcement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "both iterations of the track infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially misled by Haven's original release, the label added: "We must not allow this to become the standard practice."

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

The team behind the track have publicly confirmed utilizing AI during its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were actually his own but were heavily manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the music themselves and have even provided files of their original computer files.

"This is no secret that I used AI-powered vocal editing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and producer, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he added.

"In order to set the record straight, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Implications

Although their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the new recording did break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving relationship with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

The post cautioned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI dominance".

It also noted that the label would distribute any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are successful in proving that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the industry's major largest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who opt in to the service.

Yet, it is uncertain how a large number of established artists will consent to such applications of their identity.

Recently, a collective of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in protest to proposed revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these changes would make it easier for AI companies to train systems using protected work without obtaining a license.