Pop Vocalist Jorja Smith's Music Company Takes Firm Position Regarding Popular 'Artificial Intelligence Clone' Track

The record label representing Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its intention to receive a portion of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an AI "clone" of the singer's distinctive voice.

The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, achieved widespread popularity on social media in October, partly due to its polished soul singing by an unnamed female vocalist.

Although its momentum and potential chart position in both UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by major music services after industry organizations issued takedown requests, alleging it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician.

Even though 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new singing, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the original recording was made with AI trained on her extensive recordings and is now seeking appropriate compensation.

A Larger Issue at Stake

"This is not only about one artist. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM further expressed its view that "each iterations of the song violate Jorja's legal rights and unjustly benefit from the work of all the writers with whom she collaborates."

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

Suggesting that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's first release, the label added: "We cannot allow this to become the standard practice."

Producers Admit Using AI Technology

The duo responsible for the song have openly confirmed using AI during its creation.

Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original voice were in fact his own but were heavily altered using AI music software Suno, often referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the other member, Waypoint, identified as Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female tone".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the song themselves and have even shared evidence of their original production sessions.

"This shouldn't be secret that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker said.

"As a songwriter and producer, I like using innovative technologies, 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 Broader Impact

Although their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from official charts, the replacement recording did enter the UK Top 40 last week.

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

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and significantly outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated content should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they listen to it or not," the message continued.

Creators Become 'Unintended Victims'

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

The post warned that artists and songwriters were becoming "collateral damage in the competition by governments and tech firms towards AI supremacy".

It further noted that the label would distribute any potential songwriting credits with the collaborators behind Smith's catalogue.

"If we are able in proving that AI helped to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would seek to allocate every one of Jorja's collaborators with a pro-rata share," it detailed.

The Continuing Rise of Computer-Generated Music

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

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before disclosing they used AI to help develop their musical style.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust led a US country sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always opposed to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the world's three largest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the company, which will allow users to generate songs using the voices, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the service.

Yet, it remains uncertain how many well-known artists will consent to such applications of their work.

Recently, a collective of prominent artists such as 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 intellectual property regulations.

They contend these changes would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.