Sir Paul McCartney reveals concern for what the rise of AI may mean for budding music artists
Sir Paul McCartney is concerned about what the rise of AI may mean for budding music artists.
Sir Paul McCartney is concerned about what the rise of AI may mean for budding music artists.
The 82-year-old music legend found fame and fortune as part of the Beatles alongside John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison in the 1960s but noted that because of artificial intelligence these days, talented people are going without fair earnings for their work.
Speaking on 'Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg,' on the BBC, he said: "When we were kids in Liverpool, we found a job that we loved, but it also paid the bills.
"You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it.
"They don't have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off.
"The truth is, the money's going somewhere. Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote 'Yesterday'."
The 'Hey Jude' hitmaker called on the government to get involved as he demanded that it is their job to "protect" musicians from that sort of thing, and urged them to think about the creative artists involved or run the risk of losing them.
He said: "We're the people, you're the government! You're supposed to protect us. That's your job.
"So you know, if you're putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you're not going to have them!"
In 2023, Ringo used AI to extract vocals from an unfinished demo left by John prior to his death in 1980 and Sir Paul did acknowledge that there sometimes is room to describe the utlisration of such technology as a"good thing" within the industry.
He said: "I think AI is great, and it can do lots of great things. We took an old cassette of John's and cleaned his voice up so it sounded like it had just been recorded yesterday. So it has its uses.
"But it shouldn't rip creative people off. There's no sense in that."
