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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a share of earnings from a song it asserts was created using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's unique voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, in part due to its polished soul singing by an unnamed female singer.

Despite its success and potential top 40 entry in both UK and US, the song was later banned by leading music services after music bodies sent copyright notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the original version was made with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"The situation isn't just about Jorja. This is larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a public statement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "each versions of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's original release, the label added: "Our industry must not allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Using AI Tools

The duo responsible for the song have publicly confirmed utilizing AI in its production process.

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

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their original production sessions.

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

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy using innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the new version did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving relationship 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 substantially outpacing regulation".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

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

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are able in establishing that AI helped to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a topic of both fascination and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's three largest record labels, but those cases have since been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the service.

However, it is unclear how many established musicians will consent to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of empty studios in opposition to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

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