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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a track it asserts was created using an AI "clone" of the singer's unique vocal style.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, achieved massive traction on social media in October, in part due to its smooth soul singing by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its success and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by major streaming platforms after industry organizations sent copyright requests, stating it breached intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial recording was made with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"The situation isn't just about one artist. This is bigger than one artist or one song," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM further stated its belief that "both iterations of the song infringe on Jorja's rights and unfairly take advantage of the work 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 prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.

Suggesting that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label added: "We cannot permit this to be the new normal."

Producers Admit Using AI Tools

The duo behind the song have publicly admitted utilizing AI in its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were actually his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music platform Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they composed and created the song themselves and have even provided files of their source production sessions.

"It is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"As a songwriter and producer, I like experimenting with new tools, methods and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he added.

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

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

FAMM has framed the incident as a critical precedent for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly exceeding legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post warned that musicians and creators were becoming "collateral damage in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, showing that listeners are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major largest record labels, though those legal actions have since been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

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

Recently, a group of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in protest to proposed revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using protected work without obtaining a license.