Paul McCartney Joins AI Protest Album By Releasing Silent Track

Paul McCartney has joined a new musical protest against AI-driven copyright infringement. The former Beatle contributed a nearly three-minute silent song titled, "Bonus Track," to the updated vinyl release of the album, Is This What We Want?, which features only background studio noise and no actual music to symbolize the threat AI poses to musicians' livelihoods. The project, involving artists like the Clash, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Tori Amos, Damon Albarn, and composer Hans Zimmer, criticizes proposed changes to U.K. copyright laws that could allow AI companies to exploit recorded music without fair compensation. Profits from the album will benefit the charity Help Musicians, and according to a statement from project organizers, the use of silence reflects "the impact we expect the government's proposals would have on musicians' livelihoods." McCartney has previously expressed concern that young songwriters may lose control over their creations and not get paid while tech companies profit off their work.