🔗 Share this article

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

The song, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved massive popularity on social media in October, partly due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Despite its success and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading streaming platforms after music organizations sent copyright notices, stating it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original version was generated with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking financial redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"The situation is not only about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each iterations of the song infringe on the artist's rights and unjustly take advantage of the creative output 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 annual Brit Awards in 2019.

Suggesting that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's original track, the label added: "We must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Producers Admit Employing AI Tools

The duo responsible for the track have publicly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were extensively altered using music-generation software Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source computer files.

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

"Being a creator and producer, I enjoy using innovative technologies, techniques and remaining on the forefront of industry trends," he continued.

"In order to set the record straight, the people behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we want to do is make great music for other humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Impact

While their original version of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the replacement recording did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the incident as a critical precedent for the music industry's changing relationship with AI.

The label stated it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding legal oversight".

"AI-generated content should be transparently identified as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the message added.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her own Instagram page.

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

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

"If we are able in establishing that AI assisted to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a topic of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have now been resolved.

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

However, it is uncertain how a large number of well-known artists will agree to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of empty studios in opposition to proposed changes to copyright law.

They contend these changes would make it easier for AI companies to train models using protected work without obtaining a permission.