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

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved massive traction on social media in October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed female singer.

Despite its success and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the song was later banned by leading streaming platforms after music organizations sent copyright notices, alleging it violated copyright by impersonating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has since been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial version was made with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Larger Principle at Stake

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

FAMM also expressed its belief that "both iterations of the track violate the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "Our industry must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

The team responsible for the song have openly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source production sessions.

"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and maker, I enjoy using innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Implications

While their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the new version did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical precedent for the entertainment sector's evolving interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and significantly outpacing regulation".

"AI-generated material should be clearly labelled as such so that the audience may choose whether they consume it or not," the message added.

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

Smith shared her label's statement on her own Instagram profile.

The post warned that artists and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI assisted to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the industry's three biggest record labels, though those legal actions have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the service.

However, it remains uncertain how many well-known musicians will consent to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of prominent artists including 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 argue these changes would make it easier for AI companies to develop systems using copyrighted work without securing a permission.