🔗 Share this article Pop Singer the Artist's Record Label Takes Stand Against Popular 'Artificial Intelligence Clone' Track The artist's vocals were reportedly replicated in the creation of the viral song, 'I Run'. The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a share of earnings from a track it claims was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique voice. The song, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok last October, partly due to its polished R&B singing by an uncredited female singer. Despite its momentum and potential top 40 position in both UK and US, the song was later removed by major music services after music organizations issued copyright requests, alleging it breached copyright by imitating another musician. Even though 'I Run' has now been reissued with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, maintains it is convinced the original recording was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial compensation. A Broader Principle at Stake "This isn't just about Jorja. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a recent statement. FAMM also stated its belief that "both iterations of the track violate Jorja's legal rights and unfairly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates." Famous for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was named British Female Solo Artist at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019. Suggesting that her fans were possibly misled by Haven's original release, the label added: "Our industry must not allow this to become the standard practice." Creators Admit Employing AI Technology One creator admitted the application of AI in a public post. The duo behind the song have publicly confirmed utilizing AI during its production process. Songwriter Harrison Walker clarified that the initial voice were in fact his own but were heavily altered using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes called the "ChatGPT for music". In addition, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a feminine quality". Donaghue and Walker assert that they composed and created the song themselves and have even provided evidence of their original computer files. "It shouldn't be secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated. "As a creator and producer, I like using innovative technologies, methods and remaining on the forefront of what's happening," he continued. "In order to set the facts straight, the artists behind HAVEN are real and human, and all we want to do is make great music for fellow humans." Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Impact Jorja Smith has received two Brit Awards, including the best female artist in 2019. While their original release of 'I Run' was blocked from official charts, the new version did break into the UK Top 40 last week. FAMM has framed the incident as a critical precedent for the music industry's changing relationship with artificial intelligence. The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and substantially outpacing regulation". "Computer-created material should be clearly identified as such so that the public may choose whether they consume it or not," the statement added. Artists as 'Unintended Victims' Smith endorsed her label's position on her own Instagram page. The text cautioned that artists and songwriters were becoming "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI dominance". It further noted that the label would share any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's music. "Should we are able in proving that AI assisted to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a portion of the song, we would aim to assign every one of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed. The Ongoing Rise of AI Music The emergence of AI-generated music has been a topic of both fascination and anxiety for the music industry. In the summer, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of streams before disclosing they used AI to aid develop their sound. Last month, an AI-generated "performer" called Breaking Rust led a US genre sales chart, showing that listeners are not always opposed to hearing computer-generated music. Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the world's three largest record labels, but those legal actions have now been settled. Following this, Warner Music established a collaboration with the company, which will enable users to create songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who agree to the service. However, it is uncertain how many established musicians will agree to such applications of their work. Recently, a group of renowned musicians including 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 intellectual property regulations. They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to develop systems using protected work without securing a license.