Paul McCartney Is Using AI To Create One Last Song For The Beatles

AI-assisted vocals aren’t just for bootleg songs. Paul McCartney has told BBC Radio 4 he is using AI to turn a John Lennon demo into one last song for The Beatles. The technology helped extract Lennon’s voice to obtain a “pure” version that could be mixed into a finished composition. McCartney says the piece will be released later this year.

McCartney did not name the song, but it is believed to be “Now and Then,” a 1978 love song Lennon put on a cassette for the other ex-Beatle. Guardian notes that the tune was considered for release as a reunion song, with cuts, such as “Free as a Bird”, but there was not much to it – just a chorus, a crude backing track and Lightest of verses. The Beatles rejected it after George Harrison pitched it, and the electric buzzing from Lennon’s apartment didn’t help matters.

The revival was inspired by dialogue editor Emile de la Rey’s work on the Peter Jackson documentary. Come back, where the AI ​​separated the Beatles’ voices from instruments and other sounds. The technique provides “some sort of leeway” for the song’s production, says McCartney.

To date, music labels have generally not been fond of AI due to copyright conflicts. Creators have used algorithms to make famous artists “sing” songs they never actually produced, such as the recently pulled fantasy collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd. However, this one is different – McCartney is using AI to salvage a track that would otherwise not reach the masses. It would not be surprising if other artists use the technique to recover work that would otherwise remain in a collection.