The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a portion of royalties from a song it claims was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.
The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained massive popularity on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth R&B singing by an unnamed female vocalist.
Although its success and potential top 40 entry in both UK and US, the track was later removed by leading streaming platforms after industry bodies sent takedown requests, alleging it breached intellectual property law by imitating another artist.
Although 'I Run' has now been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original version was generated with AI trained on her extensive work and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.
"This isn't just about one artist. It's bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent statement.
FAMM also expressed its belief that "each versions of the song violate the artist's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the songwriters with whom she works."
Known for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was crowned British Female Solo Artist at the annual Brit Awards in 2019.
Suggesting that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's original release, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to be the standard practice."
The duo responsible for the song have openly admitted using AI during its production process.
Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".
In addition, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our original vocal a feminine quality".
Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even shared evidence of their original computer files.
"It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.
"Being a songwriter and producer, I like using innovative technologies, methods and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.
"To set the facts clear, the artists behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make great music for other humans."
While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from major rankings, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 recently.
FAMM has framed the entire episode as a critical precedent for the music industry's changing relationship with AI.
The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly outpacing regulation".
"Computer-created material should be transparently identified as such so that the public may decide whether they consume it or not," the message added.
Smith endorsed her label's statement on her personal social media page.
The post warned that artists and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the race by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".
It also stated that the label would share any awarded songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's music.
"If we are successful in proving that AI assisted to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.
The emergence of AI-generated music has been a topic of both interest and consternation for the entertainment world.
Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the service.
Yet, it is uncertain how many established artists will consent to such applications of their identity.
Just last week, a collective of prominent artists such as 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 potential revisions to intellectual property regulations.
They argue these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.
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