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The music company representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a portion of royalties from a song it claims was created using an AI "replica" of the singer's distinctive vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok in October, partly due to its smooth R&B vocals by an uncredited female vocalist.

Despite its success and potential top 40 entry in the UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading music services after music organizations sent copyright requests, stating it violated copyright by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original version was generated with AI programmed on her extensive work and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Larger Issue in Play

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

FAMM also expressed its belief that "each versions of the song infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "Our industry must not allow this to be the standard practice."

Producers Admit Employing AI Technology

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

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the music themselves and have even shared files of their original computer files.

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

"As a creator and maker, I like using innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was blocked from major rankings, the replacement recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her personal Instagram profile.

The text cautioned that artists and creators were becoming "unintended casualties in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It also noted that the label would distribute any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's music.

"Should we are able in establishing that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and anxiety for the music industry.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those cases have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the firm, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who agree to the program.

Yet, it remains unclear how many well-known musicians will agree to such uses of their work.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to train systems using protected work without securing a permission.