🔗 Share this article

The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a share of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved widespread traction on TikTok in October, in part due to its polished R&B singing by an uncredited female singer.

Despite its momentum and potential top 40 position in both UK and US, the track was later banned by major streaming platforms after music organizations sent takedown requests, stating it violated copyright by imitating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the initial recording was made with AI trained on her body of work and is now pursuing appropriate redress.

A Broader Issue at Stake

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

FAMM also expressed its view that "each versions of the track infringe on Jorja's rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she works."

Known for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was named Best British Female at the annual Brit Awards in 2019.

Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Using AI Technology

The duo behind the song have openly admitted using AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the music themselves and have even provided files of their original production sessions.

"It shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-powered vocal editing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"As a songwriter and maker, I like experimenting with innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the forefront of industry trends," he continued.

"In order to set the facts straight, the people behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make great music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Impact

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the new recording did enter the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical precedent for the music industry's evolving relationship with artificial intelligence.

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

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

Artists as 'Collateral Damage'

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

The text warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

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

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

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's major biggest record labels, but those cases have now been settled.

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

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

Recently, a collective of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in opposition to proposed revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these changes would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using protected work without securing a license.