🔗 Share this article

The music company representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to claim a share of royalties from a track it asserts was created using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok in October, in part due to its polished R&B vocals by an unnamed female singer.

Despite its momentum and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the track was later removed by leading streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown notices, alleging it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial recording was generated with AI programmed 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 wrote in a recent statement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "each versions of the song violate the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her supporters were possibly misled by Haven's original release, the label added: "We must not allow this to become the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo responsible for the track have openly admitted utilizing AI in its production process.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the initial vocals were in fact his own but were extensively altered using AI music software Suno, often called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine tone".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even provided evidence of their original production sessions.

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

"Being a creator and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, techniques and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

"To set the facts clear, the people behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Industry Implications

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

FAMM has framed the entire episode as a significant test case for the music industry's changing interaction 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 significantly exceeding legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Damage'

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

The text warned that musicians and creators were becoming "collateral damage in the competition by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

It further stated that the label would distribute any awarded royalties with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are successful in establishing that AI helped to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Rise of AI Music

The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to help craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not always opposed to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, though those legal actions have now been resolved.

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

Yet, it is unclear how many well-known musicians will agree to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a group of prominent artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in protest to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

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