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The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a share of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained massive popularity on social media in October, partly due to its smooth soul vocals by an unnamed female singer.

Despite its momentum and potential top 40 position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading music services after industry organizations issued copyright requests, stating it breached copyright by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original version was made with AI programmed on her extensive work and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"The situation isn't just about one artist. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a recent statement.

FAMM also stated its view that "each iterations of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

Famous 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 fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "We must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The team responsible for the song have publicly confirmed utilizing AI in its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using AI music software Suno, often called the "advanced tool for music".

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

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

"This is no secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a songwriter and maker, I enjoy using new tools, methods and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

"To set the record straight, the people behind HAVEN are actual and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Implications

Although their first release of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the new recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 recently.

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

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

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

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her personal social media page.

The text warned that musicians and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"Should we are successful in establishing that AI assisted to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Growth of AI Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before revealing they used AI to help craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always opposed to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's major largest record labels, but those cases have now been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the service.

However, it is uncertain how many well-known musicians will consent to such applications of their identity.

Just last week, a collective of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of quiet studios in protest to proposed revisions to copyright law.

They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to develop models using protected work without securing a permission.