Jorja Smith’s Label Seeks Royalties From AI-Cloned Song

Jorja Smith’s record label is demanding a share of the royalties from a TikTok-viral song that it alleges used an AI-cloned version of the British singer’s voice.

The song, “I Run,” by British dance act Haven, gained popularity in October and was poised to chart in the UK and the US, reaching No. 11 on the US Spotify chart and No. 25 on the platform’s global chart.

Streaming services subsequently banned the song after takedown notices from Smith’s label, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Thes notices cited copyright infringement through impersonation and misleading listeners into believing the song was an unreleased original by Smith.

Haven’s social media posts frequently used the hashtag #jorjasmith. A video falsely appearing to show Offset of Migos playing the song during his Boiler room new York set further fueled the belief that it was an unreleased Smith track.

The vocals on the song, initially uncredited, belonged to the band’s Harrison Walker, processed through Suno‘s generative AI. “It shouldn’t be any secret that I used AI-assisted processing to transform solely my voice for ‘I Run,'” Walker told Billboard. “As a songwriter and producer I enjoy using new tools, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of what’s happening.”

Sony Music, Warner Music Group, and Global Music Group have filed lawsuits against Suno, claiming the company trained its model on copyrighted works. Suno maintains its actions fall under fair use laws. Warner has as reached a deal with Suno; Sony and Universal remain in litigation.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Smith’s label, Famm, revealed that Haven’s team requested Smith’s feature on a remix after the song went viral. Famm alleges that “they did so as they needed to legitimise the track as the public had been led to believe that they were listening to Jorja Smith’s vocals.”

“At no point did they mention to us that AI had been used to manipulate the existing vocals, but we already had a suspicion that this was the case. We could have cut a cheque in a backroom deal and gotten paid but we ignored the request.”

The Guardian has contacted Haven for comment.