The Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has recently gone behind the mic to lend his voice to a unique “silent” track.
Protest Against AI Copyright Stance
The renowned singer-songwriter has recorded this song as a protest against the UK government’s stance on AI copyright, as reported by ‘Female First UK’. The 83-year-old artist’s offering will be released as a bonus track on the physical copy of the compilation album ‘Is This What We Want?’. This album, initially released digitally earlier this year, features silent recordings from empty studios to emphasize the vital role of human contribution in music.
More than 1,000 artists, including notable names like Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, and Annie Lennox, contributed to this thought-provoking album. The tracklisting for ‘Is This What We Want?’ clearly states, “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies”.
Voices of Concern
67-year-old Kate Bush expressed concern in a statement, asking, “In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?” The physical version of the album is set to be released on December 8, with all profits going to the charity Help Musicdigihunt, which provides extensive support to artists in crisis.
McCartney was also among 400 artists who signed an open letter addressed to Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, urging protection for their works against AI learning models. High-profile figures like Sir Elton John, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay joined the protest against the government’s proposal that would allow creatives to “opt out” of having their works used to train AI models.
Raising Awareness
Macca highlighted concerns that artists might be exploited by this approach. He told the BBC earlier this year, “You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don’t own it, and they don’t have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off.”
Referencing the Beatles classic “Yesterday,” he asserted, “The truth is, the money’s going somewhere. Somebody’s getting paid, so why shouldn’t it be the guy who sat down and wrote Yesterday?”
McCartney conveyed a message for the Labour government, saying, “We are the people, you’re the Government. You’re supposed to protect us. That’s your job. So you know, if you’re putting through a Bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you’re not going to have them.”