Paul McCartney has added his voice to a protest in the music industry by releasing a track made almost entirely of studio noise and silence.
According to a report by The Guardian, the piece is part of a campaign calling for protection against the use of artists’ work by artificial intelligence (AI) companies without consent or payment.
The former Beatle has contributed to a vinyl record titled Is This What We Want?, which features several tracks of near-silence. The album will be released in November.
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The track list carries a message directed at policymakers: “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies”.
McCartney’s track, titled (bonus track), begins with about a minute of faint tape hiss, followed by a short section of unclear sounds such as footsteps or a door opening. The noise fades again into quiet rustles, then fades to silence.
The record was organized by composer Ed Newton-Rex, who campaigns for fair copyright laws. He said he is worried that the UK government is listening more to large American technology companies than to British musicians.
Several musicians, including Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer, Sam Fender, and the Pet Shop Boys, are also supporting the campaign. They want the government to make sure artists are paid and credited when their music is used to develop generative AI systems.
Recently, David Sacks, an advisor to the Trump administration, warned that the biggest threat posed by AI is a system that monitors citizens and shapes what they are allowed to see and hear. Why? Read the full story.
