After five years without releasing a song, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney joins the cause Is This What We Want?the project led by other big names in music such as Sam Fender, Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer and Pet Shop Boys with the aim of putting pressure on the British Government to prevent technology companies from training artificial intelligence (AI) models based on creative production without approval or payment from artists, the newspaper reports “The Guardian”.
McCartney’s song, included on the project as a bonus track, is 2 minutes and 45 seconds of small noises like footsteps, accompanied by the creaking of a door and several random sounds that culminate in silence, which is intended to make the listener uncomfortable.
“Is This What We Want?” was an album created in 2024 and published on all platforms with 12 songsall with one thing in common: silence or sounds without music.
A year later, McCartney wanted to join the cause and create an extra track for the project’s vinyl release, which will be available later this month.
McCartney is one of the most influential voices in British music to express concern about the Government’s plans to create a new agreement between creatives and AI giants such as OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI, which require access to huge volumes of information, including text, images and music.