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At two minutes 45 seconds it\u2019s about the same length as With a Little Help From My Friends. But Paul McCartney\u2019s first new recording in five years lacks the sing-along tune and jaunty guitar chops because there\u2019s barely anything there.<\/p>\n
The former Beatle, arguably Britain\u2019s greatest living songwriter, is releasing a track of an almost completely silent recording studio as part of a music industry protest against copyright theft by artificial intelligence companies.<\/p>\n
In place of catchy melodies and evocative lyrics there is only quiet hiss and the odd clatter. It suggests that if AI companies unfairly exploit musicians\u2019 intellectual property to train their generative AI models, the creative ecosystem will be wrecked and original music silenced.<\/p>\n
McCartney, 83 and currently touring North America, has added the track to the B-side of an LP called Is This What We Want?<\/a>, which is filled with other silent recordings and will be pressed on vinyl and released later this month.<\/p>\n McCartney\u2019s contribution comes as musicians and artists step up their campaign to persuade the UK government to stop technology companies from training AI models on their creative output without approval or paying royalties. Meanwhile, Britain faces anti-regulation pressure from Donald Trump\u2019s White House.<\/p>\n The album track listing spells out \u201cthe British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies\u201d.<\/p>\n Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and campaigner for copyright fairness behind the protest album, said: \u201cI am very concerned the government is paying more attention to US tech companies\u2019 interests rather than British creatives\u2019 interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Other artists already backing the campaign include Sam Fender, Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer and the Pet Shop Boys.<\/p>\n McCartney\u2019s new contribution is called (bonus track) and like his best songs, it could be said to have a beginning, a middle and an end. It fades up quickly and begins with 55 seconds of tape hiss before 15 seconds of indeterminate clattering that could be someone opening a door and pacing about, before settling down to another 80 seconds of rustle-punctuated hiss and concluding with a slow and poignant fadeout.<\/p>\n McCartney has been among leading voices in British music voicing concern at the ministers\u2019 plans forge a new deal between creatives and AI companies such as Open AI, Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk\u2019s xAI, which demand access to huge volumes of training information including text, images and music.<\/p>\n