Pop Singer the Artist's Record Company Takes Stand Regarding Viral 'AI Clone' Track

The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a share of royalties from a track it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "replica" of the performer's unique voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK electronic duo Haven, achieved massive popularity on TikTok in October, in part due to its smooth soul vocals by an unnamed female vocalist.

Although its momentum and impending chart position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading streaming platforms after music bodies issued takedown notices, alleging it breached copyright by impersonating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial version was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Larger Principle at Stake

"This is not only about one artist. It's bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "each iterations of the track infringe on the artist's rights and unfairly take advantage of the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Implying that her supporters were possibly misled by Haven's first release, the label added: "Our industry must not permit this to become the standard practice."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The team responsible for the track have publicly admitted using AI in its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial voice were in fact his own but were heavily manipulated using AI music software Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music".

Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker maintain that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared evidence of their source production sessions.

"It shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

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

"To set the facts straight, the people behind HAVEN are actual and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Legal Uncertainty and Industry Impact

Although their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from official charts, the replacement version managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical test case for the music industry's changing interaction with artificial intelligence.

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

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

Artists as 'Collateral Victims'

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

The post cautioned that artists and songwriters were turning into "collateral damage in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It also noted that the label would distribute any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered millions of streams before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three biggest record labels, but those legal actions have since been settled.

Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner acts who opt in to the service.

Yet, it is unclear how a large number of well-known artists will consent to such applications of their work.

Recently, a group of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring tracks of silence or audio of empty studios in opposition to proposed changes to intellectual property regulations.

They argue these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without securing a permission.