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

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved widespread traction on TikTok in October, in part due to its smooth R&B singing by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Although its momentum and impending top 40 entry in both UK and US, the song was later removed by major streaming platforms after music bodies issued copyright notices, stating it violated copyright by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original version was made with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Issue in Play

"This isn't just about one artist. It's larger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

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

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

Implying that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "We must not permit this to be the standard practice."

Producers Admit Using AI Tools

The team behind the song have publicly admitted using AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using AI music software Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a feminine tone".

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

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

"Being a songwriter and producer, I like using new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

"In order to set the record straight, the artists behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was suspended 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 test case for the entertainment sector's evolving relationship with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly exceeding legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own social media profile.

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI dominance".

It further stated that the label would share any potential songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

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

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a source of both interest and anxiety for the music industry.

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those cases have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who agree to the program.

However, it remains unclear how a large number of well-known musicians will consent to such applications of their identity.

Recently, a collective of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in opposition to potential revisions to copyright law.

They contend these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without securing a license.