🔗 Share this article

The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a portion of royalties from a track it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok in October, in part due to its polished R&B singing by an uncredited woman singer.

Although its success and impending top 40 entry in the UK and US, the track was subsequently banned by leading streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown notices, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was generated with AI trained on her extensive work and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Broader Issue in Play

"This is not only about Jorja. This is bigger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM also stated its view that "each iterations of the song violate the artist's rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all the writers with whom she works."

Famous for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was crowned British Female Solo Artist at the annual Brit Awards in 2019.

Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "We must not allow this to be the new normal."

Creators Admit Using AI Tools

The duo behind the song have openly admitted using AI in its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the second member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts 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 original computer files.

"This shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and maker, I enjoy using innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," he continued.

"To set the record clear, the people behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we want to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Implications

While their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has framed the incident as a critical test case for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"Computer-created material should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the statement added.

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

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

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and tech firms towards AI dominance".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI assisted to compose the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a topic of both interest and consternation for the music industry.

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always opposed to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for alleged violations by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who agree to the program.

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

Just last week, a group of prominent artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or audio of empty studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

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