🔗 Share this article Pop Vocalist the Artist's Record Company Takes Stand Regarding Viral 'AI Clone' Song The artist's vocals were allegedly replicated in the production of the hit song, 'I Run'. The music company representing award-winning artist Jorja Smith has declared its desire to receive a portion of earnings from a song it asserts was produced using an AI "replica" of the singer's distinctive vocal style. The track, titled 'I Run' by UK dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on TikTok last October, partly due to its smooth soul singing by an uncredited woman singer. Despite its momentum and potential top 40 position in both UK and US, the song was subsequently removed by leading music services after industry organizations issued copyright requests, stating it violated intellectual property law by imitating another musician. Although 'I Run' has since been re-released with different vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it is convinced the original recording was generated with AI trained on her body of recordings and is now pursuing appropriate compensation. A Broader Issue in Play "This isn't just about Jorja. This is larger than one artist or a single track," the label wrote in a public statement. FAMM further expressed its belief that "each iterations of the song violate Jorja's rights and unjustly benefit from the creative output of all the writers with whom she collaborates." Known for hits 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 misled by Haven's first release, the label added: "Our industry must not allow this to become the new normal." Producers Acknowledge Using AI Tools One producer confirmed the application of AI in a social media post. The team responsible for the song have openly confirmed using AI in its creation. Producer Harrison Walker clarified that the original vocals were in fact his own but were extensively manipulated using music-generation platform Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music". In addition, the second member, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on social media that AI was used to "apply our original vocal a feminine tone". Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and produced the music themselves and have even shared files of their source production sessions. "This is no secret that I used AI-powered vocal processing to transform solely my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated. "Being a songwriter and maker, I like experimenting with new tools, methods and staying on the forefront of what's happening," he continued. "In order to set the record straight, the artists behind HAVEN are real and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans." Regulatory Gray Areas and Industry Impact The singer has won multiple Brit Awards, among them the best female artist in 2019. Although their first version of 'I Run' was blocked from major charts, the replacement version did enter the UK Top 40 last week. FAMM has framed the incident as a significant test case for the music industry's evolving interaction with AI. The label stated it had "an obligation to voice concerns" and "stimulate wider discussion", because AI is advancing at an "rapid rate and significantly exceeding legal oversight". "AI-generated material should be transparently identified as such so that the public may decide whether they consume it or not," the message added. Artists as 'Unintended Victims' Smith shared her label's statement on her personal social media page. The post cautioned that musicians and creators were turning into "unintended casualties in the competition by governments and corporations towards AI dominance". It further noted that the label would distribute any awarded songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's music. "Should we are successful in proving that AI helped to write the lyrics and melody in 'I Run' and are awarded a share of the song, we would aim to allocate each of Jorja's co-writers with a pro-rata share," it detailed. The Ongoing Growth of AI Music The proliferation of AI-generated music has been a source of both fascination and anxiety for the entertainment world. In June, the band Velvet Sundown accumulated vast numbers of plays before revealing they used AI to aid craft their musical style. Recently, an AI-generated "artist" known as Breaking Rust led a US country digital song sales chart, showing that listeners are not necessarily opposed to consuming computer-generated music. Suno was last year taken to court for copyright infringement by the industry's three largest record labels, though those legal actions have since been settled. Following this, Warner Music entered into a collaboration with the firm, which will enable users to create songs using the vocal likenesses, names, and images of Warner artists who agree to the program. Yet, it remains unclear how a large number of established musicians will consent to such applications of their identity. Just last week, a collective of prominent musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush released a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of empty studios in protest to potential changes to copyright law. They argue these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without obtaining a permission.