🔗 Share this article

The music company representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a share of earnings from a song it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the performer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, gained widespread popularity on social media in October, in part due to its smooth R&B vocals by an unnamed woman singer.

Although its success and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the track was later removed by leading music services after industry organizations issued takedown requests, stating it breached copyright by impersonating another musician.

Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the original recording was made with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"The situation is not only about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a public announcement.

FAMM also stated its view that "each iterations of the track infringe on the artist's rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "Our industry cannot allow this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Using AI Technology

The duo responsible for the song have publicly admitted utilizing AI in its creation.

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

Meanwhile, the other producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a feminine tone".

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

"It is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a creator and maker, I like using new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Implications

Although their original version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement recording did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical test case for the entertainment sector's evolving relationship with AI.

The label argued it had "an obligation to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

"Computer-created material should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they consume it or not," the statement added.

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own social media profile.

The post warned that artists and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI dominance".

It further stated that the label would share any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's music.

"If we are able in establishing that AI helped to write the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to allocate every one of Jorja's co-writers with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Ongoing Growth of Computer-Generated Music

The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a topic of both fascination and consternation for the music industry.

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was previously sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, though those legal actions have now been resolved.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the firm, which will enable users to generate songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

Yet, it remains uncertain how many established musicians will agree to such applications of their identity.

Recently, a collective of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or recordings of quiet studios in protest to potential changes to intellectual property regulations.

They contend these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to train models using protected work without securing a license.