🔗 Share this article Soul Singer Jorja Smith's Music Label Takes a Firm Position Against Viral 'Artificial Intelligence Clone' Track The artist's vocals were allegedly replicated in the creation of the hit song, 'I Run'. The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a share of royalties from a song it claims was created using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the singer's unique vocal style. The track, titled 'I Run' by British electronic duo Haven, achieved widespread popularity on social media in October, partly due to its smooth soul singing by an uncredited woman vocalist. Despite its success and potential chart entry in both UK and US, the track was subsequently removed by leading music services after music organizations sent takedown notices, stating it breached copyright by impersonating another artist. Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it believes the initial recording was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation. A Broader Principle in Play "This is not only about Jorja. This is bigger than one artist or one song," the label stated in a recent announcement. FAMM also stated its belief that "each iterations of the track infringe on the artist's rights and unjustly take advantage of 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 annual Brit Awards in 2019. Suggesting that her supporters were possibly deceived by Haven's original track, the label concluded: "We cannot allow this to become the standard practice." Creators Admit Using AI Tools A creator confirmed the use of AI in a public post. The duo responsible for the song have publicly confirmed utilizing AI in its creation. Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the original voice were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using AI music platform Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music". Meanwhile, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our starting vocal a female tone". Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even provided files of their source production sessions. "This is no secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated. "Being a songwriter and maker, I enjoy using new tools, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he added. "To set the facts clear, the artists behind HAVEN are actual and people, and all we aim to do is make great music for fellow humans." Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Implications The singer has received multiple Brit Awards, among them the top female honor in 2019. While their original version of 'I Run' was blocked from official rankings, the new recording managed to break into the UK Top 40 last week. FAMM has positioned the entire episode as a critical test case for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence. The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "rapid rate and substantially outpacing regulation". "Computer-created content should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may decide whether they listen to it or not," the statement added. Creators Become 'Collateral Victims' Smith shared her label's position on her personal social media profile. The text warned that musicians and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the competition by policymakers and tech firms towards AI dominance". It also stated that the label would distribute any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue. "If we are able in proving that AI assisted to write the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a portion of the song, we would seek to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it explained. The Continuing Growth of Computer-Generated Music The emergence of algorithmically created music has been a source of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world. In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated millions of plays before revealing they used AI to help craft their sound. Recently, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that audiences are not always averse to consuming AI-made music. Suno was last year sued for copyright infringement by the industry's three biggest record labels, though those legal actions have since been settled. Following this, Warner Music established a partnership with the company, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who opt in to the service. Yet, it is unclear how many well-known artists will agree to such uses of their identity. Just last week, a collective 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 protest to potential revisions to copyright law. They contend these amendments would make it easier for AI companies to develop models using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.