Jorja Smith’s Label Demands Royalties for Alleged AI-Created Track

The record label representing Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith has publicly expressed its intention to claim a portion of the royalties from a song it alleges was generated using an artificial intelligence imitation of Smith’s voice.

Entitled “I Run,” the track by the British electronic group Haven gained significant popularity on TikTok last October, largely due to the smooth, soulful vocals of an uncredited female singer.

While it was poised to make its mark on music charts in both the UK and the US, streaming platforms subsequently removed it following copyright infringement claims made by industry organizations, citing the song’s resemblance to another artist’s work.

Despite the track being re-released with different vocals, Smith’s label, FAMM, alleges that the original version was produced with AI technology trained on her musical catalog, and is now pursuing compensation.

This isn’t just about Jorja. It’s bigger than one artist or one song.

FAMM articulated its belief that both iterations of the song violate Jorja’s rights and exploit the contributions of all songwriters who collaborate with her.

Jorja Smith, acclaimed for hits like “Be Honest” and “Little Things,” was honored as the best British female artist at the Brit Awards in 2019.

The label further suggested that Haven’s track has misled Smith’s fans, asserting, “We cannot allow this to become the new normal.”

The creators of the song have acknowledged the use of AI in its development.

Producer Harrison Walker disclosed that the initial vocals were his own but had been significantly altered using AI music generation software known as Suno, often referred to as the “ChatGPT for music.”

Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue and who also contributed to the track, confirmed on social media that AI was employed to modify their original vocals to sound female.

Both Walker and Donaghue assert their roles in writing and producing the song, even providing videos of their original project files to a prominent music publication.

It shouldn’t be any secret that I used AI-assisted vocal processing to transform solely my voice for I Run.

Walker emphasized his enthusiasm as a songwriter and producer for utilizing innovative tools and techniques to remain at the forefront of the music scene.

He asserted, “The artists behind HAVEN. are real and human, and all we want to do is make great music for other humans.”

Suno has acknowledged that its software was developed using copyrighted material, claiming that such usage falls under the legal principle of “fair use,” which permits quoting copyrighted work for purposes like critique, news reporting, and research.

However, it remains unclear whether Smith’s recordings were included in the training data for this software. Haven stated that they only prompted the AI to utilize “soulful vocal samples” during the song’s creation.

Although the original version of “I Run” faced suspension from both the Official Charts Company in the UK and the Billboard Charts in the US, its revised version successfully entered the UK Top 40 last week.

FAMM has positioned the controversy surrounding the original song as a pivotal moment for the music industry’s approach to AI.

The label expressed a responsibility to advocate for awareness and dialogue, given the rapid expansion of AI technology that seems to outstrip current regulations.

AI material should be clearly labelled as such so that the public may choose whether they consume AI material or not.

Smith echoed FAMM’s sentiments on her Instagram account, cautioning that artists and other creatives risk becoming “collateral damage” in the race for AI supremacy among governments and corporations.

Additionally, the label indicated that it would share any royalties acquired with the songwriters behind Smith’s works.

“If we succeed in proving that AI contributed to the lyrics and melody of I Run, and we are awarded a share, we would allocate each of Jorja’s co-writers a pro-rata share based on their contributions to Jorja’s catalog,” the statement elaborated.

The rise of AI-generated music has sparked both intrigue and concern within the music sector.

In June, the band Velvet Sundown garnered millions of streams on Spotify before revealing their use of AI in crafting their unique roots-rock sound.

Last month, an AI-created “artist” called Breaking Rust reached the top of the US country digital song sales chart, illustrating that audiences may be open to consuming music produced by computers.

Last year, Suno faced a copyright infringement lawsuit from all three major record labels, but those disputes have since been resolved.

Warner Music subsequently entered into a partnership with the company, enabling users to generate AI-created songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner artists who choose to participate.

The extent of artist participation in such ventures remains uncertain.

Recently, notable musicians, including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush, released a vinyl album featuring silent tracks as a protest against proposed copyright law changes that they argue would facilitate AI companies in training models on copyrighted works without authorization.

This album was previously made available on streaming platforms in February.