🔗 Share this article

The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a track it asserts was produced using an AI "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved massive traction on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth R&B singing by an unnamed female vocalist.

Although its momentum and potential top 40 position in the UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by leading music services after industry bodies sent copyright notices, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has now been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the original version was generated with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing appropriate compensation.

A Broader Issue in Play

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

FAMM further stated its view that "both versions of the track infringe on the artist's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "Our industry must not permit this to be the standard practice."

Producers Admit Using AI Technology

The duo behind the track have openly confirmed utilizing AI in its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were in fact his own but were extensively altered using AI music software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the music themselves and have even provided evidence of their original computer files.

"This is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a songwriter and maker, I like using new tools, techniques and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he added.

"In order to set the facts clear, the people behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Legal Gray Areas and Broader Impact

While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the replacement version managed to break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a significant precedent for the music industry's evolving interaction with AI.

The label stated it had "an obligation to speak up" and "encourage wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and significantly exceeding regulation".

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

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

Smith shared her label's statement on her personal social media page.

The post warned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI dominance".

It also noted that the label would share any potential royalties with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

The proliferation of algorithmically created music has been a source of both fascination and consternation for the entertainment world.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before revealing they used AI to aid craft their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, demonstrating that audiences are not necessarily averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's major largest record labels, but those cases have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the program.

However, it remains uncertain how a large number of well-known musicians will agree to such uses of their identity.

Just last week, a group of renowned artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of quiet studios in opposition to proposed changes to copyright law.

They argue these changes would make it easier for AI companies to develop systems using protected work without obtaining a license.