Pop Vocalist the Artist's Music Label Takes a Firm Position Against Popular 'Artificial Intelligence Clone' Track

The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a share of royalties from a song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained widespread popularity on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Although its success and impending chart position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading streaming platforms after music bodies sent copyright requests, stating it breached intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial version was generated with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation.

A Larger Issue in Play

"The situation is not only about Jorja. This is larger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent announcement.

FAMM also stated its view that "both versions of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her fans were potentially deceived by Haven's first release, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot permit this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The team responsible for the song have openly admitted using AI during its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were actually his own but were extensively altered using AI music platform Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female tone".

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

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

"As a creator and producer, I enjoy using new tools, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of what's happening," he added.

"To set the record clear, the people behind HAVEN are real 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 blocked from official rankings, the new version did break into the UK Top 40 recently.

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

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her personal Instagram page.

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

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

"Should we are able in proving that AI assisted to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, showing that audiences are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three largest record labels, though those legal actions have since been settled.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the program.

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

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

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