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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 claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the singer's unique vocal style.

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

Although its momentum and impending top 40 entry in both UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading music services after music bodies sent copyright requests, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial version was made with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Principle in Play

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

FAMM further stated its view that "each versions of the track infringe on Jorja's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were possibly misled by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "Our industry must not allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The team behind the track have openly confirmed utilizing AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation software Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a feminine tone".

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

"It is no secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

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

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Impact

While their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the new recording managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with AI.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and substantially exceeding regulation".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

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

The text cautioned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by governments and corporations towards AI dominance".

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

"Should we are successful in proving that AI helped to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those cases have since been resolved.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

However, it remains unclear how a large number of established musicians will consent to such uses of their work.

Recently, a group of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or recordings of empty studios in protest to proposed revisions 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.