Other than the occasional track, like the 1972 single “Give Ireland Back to the Irish,” Paul McCartney isn’t generally associated with topical songs. But he’s changing his tune, so to speak, as part of a new protest by musicians against copyright theft by AI companies.
Originally released this past February, the album Is This What We Want? consisted entirety of background noise taped at recording studios, but no actual voices, songs, or instruments. The project was designed to draw attention to the way AI companies could exploit recorded music, along with other art forms, as the basis for projects, thanks to a proposed change in U.K. copyright law. According to a statement from the album organizers at the time, the record’s use of silence was meant to symbolize “the impact we expect the government’s proposals would have on musicians’ livelihoods.”
For the album’s upcoming vinyl release on Dec. 8, McCartney contributed his own blank slate: “Bonus Track,” which spans 2 minutes and 45 seconds long of silence.
Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, McCartney discussed his concerns about AI infiltrating his business. “You get young guys and girls coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don’t own it,” he said. “They don’t have anything to do with it, and anyone who wants can just rip it off … When it gets on the streaming platforms, somebody’s getting [the money], and it should be the person who created it. It shouldn’t just be some tech giant somewhere. Somebody’s getting paid. Why shouldn’t it be the guy who sat down and wrote ‘Yesterday’?”
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Each song on the original digital version of Is This What We Want? had a one-word title, which, when listed in full, spelled out “The British Government Must Not Legalize Music Theft to Benefit AI Companies.” Among the musicians credited as co-writers are the Clash, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Tori Amos, Damon Albarn, composer Hans Zimmer, Billy Ocean, and Yusuf/Cat Stevens. Profits will go toward the charity Help Musicians.
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