The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has declared its intention to receive a portion of royalties from a song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the performer's distinctive vocal style.
The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, gained massive traction on social media last October, in part due to its smooth soul singing by an unnamed woman vocalist.
Although its success and potential chart position in the UK and US, the song was later removed by leading music services after industry bodies sent takedown notices, alleging it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.
Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial recording was made with AI programmed on her extensive recordings and is now pursuing appropriate redress.
"This is not only about one artist. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a public announcement.
FAMM also expressed its belief that "each iterations of the track violate Jorja's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she works."
Famous for hits like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was named Best British Female at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.
Implying that her fans were possibly deceived by Haven's first track, the label added: "Our industry must not permit this to become the standard practice."
The team responsible for the song have openly confirmed using AI during its production process.
Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the initial voice were actually his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".
Meanwhile, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a female tone".
Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and produced the music themselves and have even shared evidence of their original computer files.
"This is no mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.
"Being a songwriter and producer, I like using new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.
"To set the facts straight, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and human, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."
Although their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement recording did enter the UK Top 40 recently.
FAMM has framed 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 "rapid rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".
"Computer-created content should be transparently identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they consume it or not," the statement added.
Smith endorsed her label's statement on her own social media profile.
The text warned that musicians and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the race by policymakers and tech firms towards AI dominance".
It also stated that the label would distribute any awarded royalties with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.
"Should we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.
The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a topic of both fascination and consternation for the entertainment world.
Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the program.
However, it remains uncertain how a large number of established musicians will agree to such applications of their work.
Recently, a group of renowned musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing tracks of silence or recordings of empty studios in opposition to proposed changes to copyright law.
They argue these amendments would make it simpler for AI companies to train systems using copyrighted work without securing a permission.
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