Image via Apple Corps //
Imagine if AI started demanding royalties…
In a twist that could make even the most die-hard Beatles fan do a double take, Paul McCartney has announced the upcoming release of a “final” song by the iconic band. But here’s the catch: the completion of the song was made possible thanks to the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
During a recent interview, McCartney spilled the beans on the achievement, explaining that through AI technology, he managed to “resurrect” Lennon’s vocals from an ancient demo track. There’s plenty of speculation as to which track McCartney is currently putting the finishing touches on. However, the general consensus is that it’s the mysterious ‘Now And Then’, which has been stuck in creative limbo for decades.
Received from Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono in 1994, the song was featured on a cassette that Lennon had made shortly before his death, which was titled ‘For Paul’. Despite Lennon’s seemingly clear message that the track was for his former bandmate to finish, the latter struggled with it for decades for a variety of reasons, with the biggest of which being the low quality of the recording itself.
But of course, it seems AI was able to succeed where many others failed, with McCartney explaining that he took inspiration from Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary to separate Lennon’s voice and piano on the original recording using the technology, adding that, “We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI. Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do. So it gives you some sort of leeway.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIZrdXm9UTQ
It’s definitely exciting news for Beatles fans across the world, but the ever-growing power of AI in music is slightly terrifying for any musician who’s dedicated countless hours to learning their craft. Check out the original demo for ‘Now And Then’ above and, just to emphasis how bloody scary AI is, check out the Beatles AI cover of Oasis classic, ‘Wonderwall’, below.
