Soul Vocalist Jorja Smith's Music Company Takes Firm Position Regarding Viral 'Artificial Intelligence Clone' Track

The music company representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to claim a portion of earnings from a track it claims was created using an AI "replica" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved widespread traction on social media in October, in part due to its smooth soul vocals by an uncredited female singer.

Despite its momentum and impending chart entry in the UK and US, the song was later banned by leading music services after music organizations issued takedown requests, alleging it violated intellectual property law by impersonating another artist.

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

A Broader Principle in Play

"This isn't just about Jorja. This is bigger than a single performer or a single track," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM further expressed its belief that "both iterations of the song violate the artist's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the songwriters with whom she works."

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

Implying that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's original release, the label added: "We cannot permit this to be the standard practice."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Technology

The team behind the song have openly confirmed using AI during its production process.

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

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

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

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

"As a songwriter and producer, I enjoy experimenting with new tools, methods and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

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

Regulatory Gray Areas and Broader Implications

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

FAMM has positioned the incident as a critical test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with AI.

The label stated it had "a duty to speak up" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially exceeding regulation".

"Computer-created material should be transparently labelled as such so that the audience may decide whether they listen to it or not," the statement continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Damage'

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

The post warned that musicians and creators were becoming "collateral damage in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI supremacy".

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

"If we are able in establishing that AI assisted to compose the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators 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 band Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that audiences are not always averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the world's major biggest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will enable users to generate songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who agree to the service.

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

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

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