🔗 Share this article

The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a share of earnings from a song it claims was created using an AI "replica" of the performer's unique voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok in October, partly due to its polished soul vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Despite its success and potential chart position in the UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by major music services after music bodies issued copyright notices, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was made with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Broader Issue at Stake

"This is not only about Jorja. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "each iterations of the track violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

Known for hits like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was crowned British Female Solo Artist at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.

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

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

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

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their original computer files.

"This shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and producer, I enjoy experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the cutting edge of what's happening," he continued.

"To set the record straight, the artists behind HAVEN are real and human, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."

Legal Uncertainty and Broader Implications

While their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from major rankings, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

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

"Computer-created content should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may choose whether they consume it or not," the message added.

Artists as 'Collateral Victims'

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

The post cautioned that musicians and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are successful in establishing that AI helped to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those legal actions have now been resolved.

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

However, it remains unclear how many well-known artists will agree to such applications of their identity.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of empty studios in protest to proposed revisions to copyright law.

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