Former Beatle and musical icon Paul McCartney has lent his support—and his silence—to a unique industry protest against the unchecked rise of artificial intelligence in music. As reported by The Guardian, legendary songwriter has contributed a “silent” track to the upcoming vinyl release of Is This What We Want?, a collaborative protest album designed to pressure the UK government into protecting artists’ copyright.
The project, organized by composer and former AI executive Ed Newton-Rex, features contributions from over 1,000 artists, including Kate Bush, Sam Fender, Hans Zimmer, The Cure‘s Robert Smith, and the Pet Shop Boys.
While McCartney‘s involvement headlines the new vinyl edition, the album’s concept is a stark artistic statement in itself. Rather than music, the record consists entirely of “silent” tracks—recordings of empty recording studios, quiet hiss, and ambient room noise. The artistic void is intended to symbolize a future where human creativity has been displaced or drowned out by AI models trained on stolen intellectual property.
The album’s tracklisting is equally deliberate. Each of the twelve original tracks is titled with a single word, which together spell out a demand to British lawmakers: “The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies.”
McCartney’s contribution, simply titled “(Bonus Track),” appears on the B-side of the vinyl edition, set for release later this month. Far from the melodic genius of “Hey Jude” or “Yesterday,” the 83-year-old’s new “song” features 55 seconds of tape hiss followed by the faint, indeterminate sounds of a studio space—a door opening, footsteps, and rustling—before fading out.
The campaign is a direct response to the UK government’s proposed text and data mining exceptions, which critics argue would allow tech giants to scrape copyrighted music, lyrics, and recordings to train generative AI models without permission or payment.
Organizer Ed Newton-Rex, who resigned from a top role at Stability AI over ethical concerns, has been a vocal critic of the government’s stance.
“I am very concerned the government is paying more attention to US tech companies’ interests rather than British creatives’ interests,” Newton-Rex stated regarding the project.
The silence on the record speaks louder than words for many of the participants. Kate Bush, rarely one to step into the public eye, offered a chilling question regarding the industry’s trajectory: “In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?”
McCartney, who is currently on tour in North America, has been vocal about the threat AI poses to the next generation of songwriters. While he famously utilized AI technology to clean up John Lennon‘s vocals for the final Beatles track “Now and Then,” he draws a sharp line at generative AI that exploits artists’ work.
“We’ve got to be careful about it because it could just take over and we don’t want that to happen, particularly for the young composers and writers for who, it may be the only way they’re gonna make a career,” McCartney warned. “If AI wipes that out, that would be a very sad thing indeed.”
Proceeds from the vinyl sales of Is This What We Want? will be donated to the charity Help Musicians.
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