Soul Vocalist the Artist's Record Label Takes a Firm Position Regarding Popular 'Artificial Intelligence Clone' Track

The music company representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to receive a portion of royalties from a track it asserts was produced using an artificial intelligence "clone" of the performer's distinctive voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, achieved widespread popularity on TikTok last October, partly due to its polished soul singing by an uncredited woman singer.

Despite its momentum and impending chart entry in both UK and US, the song was subsequently banned by major streaming platforms after music organizations issued takedown requests, alleging it violated intellectual property law by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has since been reissued with different singing, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the original recording was made with AI programmed on her body of recordings and is now pursuing financial redress.

A Broader Issue in Play

"This isn't just about one artist. It's bigger than a single performer or one song," the label stated in a recent statement.

FAMM also expressed its view that "each iterations of the track violate the artist's legal rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the writers 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 supporters were potentially deceived by Haven's original release, the label added: "We cannot allow this to be the new normal."

Producers Acknowledge Employing AI Tools

The duo responsible for the song have openly confirmed utilizing AI during its production process.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original voice were actually his own but were extensively altered using AI music platform Suno, sometimes called the "advanced tool for music".

Meanwhile, the other member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on his accounts that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a feminine tone".

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

"This shouldn't be mystery that I used AI-assisted vocal editing to convert solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"Being a creator and maker, I like using new tools, techniques and staying on the forefront of industry trends," he continued.

"In order to set the facts straight, the artists behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for fellow humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Implications

While their first release of 'I Run' was blocked from official charts, the new recording managed to enter the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's evolving interaction with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

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

Creators Become 'Collateral Damage'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her own social media profile.

The post warned that musicians and creators were becoming "unintended casualties in the race by governments and tech firms towards AI dominance".

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

"If we are able in proving that AI assisted to write the words and tune in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Rise of AI Music

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

• In the summer, the group Velvet Sundown gathered vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to aid craft their sound.
• Last month, an AI-generated "performer" known as Breaking Rust topped a US country digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not necessarily averse to hearing computer-generated music.
• Suno was previously taken to court for alleged violations by the world's major biggest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Subsequently, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the firm, which will allow users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who opt in to the program.

Yet, it is uncertain how many well-known musicians will consent to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a collective of renowned musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album containing 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 train systems using copyrighted work without securing a license.