Soul Vocalist the Artist's Music Label Takes a Stand Against Viral 'AI Copy' Song

The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its intention to claim a portion of earnings from a song it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the performer's distinctive vocal style.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved massive traction on TikTok last October, in part due to its smooth soul singing by an uncredited female singer.

Although its momentum and impending chart position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by major streaming platforms after industry bodies issued takedown notices, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another artist.

Although 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the initial recording was made with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This isn't just about Jorja. It's bigger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public statement.

FAMM also stated its belief that "each versions of the song infringe on the artist's legal rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's first track, the label concluded: "Our industry must not permit this to be the new normal."

Creators Admit Employing AI Tools

The duo behind the track have publicly admitted utilizing AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the initial vocals were actually his own but were heavily manipulated using music-generation software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

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

Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source production sessions.

"This shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"Being a creator and producer, I like using new tools, techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added.

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

Legal Gray Areas and Industry Impact

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

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

The label argued it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and significantly exceeding regulation".

"AI-generated material should be transparently labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they listen to it or not," the message continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

Smith shared her label's position on her personal social media profile.

The post cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to write the lyrics and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it detailed.

The Ongoing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before revealing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre sales chart, showing that audiences are not always opposed to consuming computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the industry's three largest record labels, but those legal actions have since been resolved.

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

However, it remains unclear how many established musicians will agree to such applications of their work.

Recently, a collective of renowned artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album containing silent songs or audio of quiet studios in protest to proposed changes to copyright law.

They argue these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to train models using protected work without securing a permission.