🔗 Share this article

The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a portion of earnings from a track it asserts was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth R&B singing by an uncredited woman vocalist.

Although its success and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was later removed by leading music services after music organizations issued takedown requests, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial version was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Broader Issue at Stake

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

FAMM further expressed its view that "both iterations of the track violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "We must not allow this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo behind the track have openly admitted utilizing AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were actually his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the song themselves and have even shared files of their source computer files.

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

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

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Impact

Although their original release of 'I Run' was suspended from major rankings, the replacement recording managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a critical test case for the music industry's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated material should be transparently labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they listen to it or not," the statement continued.

Creators Become 'Collateral Victims'

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

The text warned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in establishing that AI assisted to write the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was previously sued for copyright infringement by the world's three largest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner acts who agree to the program.

Yet, it remains unclear how a large number of well-known artists will agree to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or audio of quiet studios in opposition to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.