Pop Singer the Artist's Music Company Takes a Stand Regarding Viral 'AI Copy' Track

The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a share of royalties from a song it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the singer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, gained widespread traction on social media in October, in part due to its polished soul singing by an unnamed woman vocalist.

Despite its momentum and potential chart entry in both UK and US, the track was later banned by major streaming platforms after industry organizations sent takedown notices, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been re-released with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original version was generated with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"This isn't just about one artist. This is larger than one artist or one song," the label wrote in a recent announcement.

FAMM further stated its view that "both iterations of the track infringe on Jorja's rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Suggesting that her supporters were potentially misled by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "Our industry must not permit this to become the new normal."

Producers Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo responsible for the song have publicly confirmed using AI in its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the initial voice were in fact his own but were extensively altered using music-generation platform Suno, often referred to as the "advanced tool for music".

In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media 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 source production sessions.

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

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

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

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Impact

While their first version 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 incident as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing regulation".

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

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post cautioned that musicians and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI dominance".

It further noted that the label would share any awarded songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's music.

"If we are able in proving that AI assisted to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before revealing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country sales chart, showing that listeners are not always averse to consuming AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the industry's major biggest record labels, though those legal actions have since been settled.

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

Yet, it is uncertain how a large number of established artists will consent to such uses of their work.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of empty studios in protest to potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to develop systems using copyrighted work without securing a license.