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The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to receive a portion of royalties from a track it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the singer's unique vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on social media in October, partly due to its smooth soul vocals by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its success and potential chart position in the UK and US, the song was later removed by major streaming platforms after industry bodies issued takedown notices, alleging it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original recording was made with AI programmed on her extensive work and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. It's larger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each iterations of the track infringe on the artist's rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Implying that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "We cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Employing AI Technology

The team behind the song have openly admitted utilizing AI during its creation.

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

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their source computer files.

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

"As a creator and maker, I like using innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

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

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Implications

Although their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from official rankings, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a critical precedent for the music industry's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

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

"Computer-created content should be transparently identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they listen to it or not," the message continued.

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her own social media page.

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It further stated that the label would share any awarded royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a source of both interest and consternation for the music industry.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the world's major largest record labels, though those legal actions have now been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the program.

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

Just last week, a collective of prominent artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to potential revisions to copyright law.

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