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The record label representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to receive a share of royalties from a song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, gained widespread traction on social media last October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its success and potential chart position in the UK and US, the track was subsequently banned by leading music services after industry bodies issued copyright requests, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial version was generated with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Broader Principle in Play

"This is not only about Jorja. It's larger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM further stated its view that "each iterations of the song infringe on Jorja's rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially misled by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to be the new normal."

Producers Admit Employing AI Tools

The duo behind the track have openly confirmed using AI during its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were actually his own but were heavily altered using music-generation software Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the song themselves and have even provided evidence of their source production sessions.

"This is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and maker, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Impact

Although their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from official charts, the replacement version managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical precedent for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label stated it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

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

Artists as 'Collateral Damage'

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

The post cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "collateral damage in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are successful in proving that AI assisted to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before revealing they used AI to aid develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the world's major biggest record labels, but those cases have since been resolved.

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

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

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

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