Paul McCartney Clarifies How AI Will Be Used In New Beatles Song: ‘It’s All Real and We All Play on It’

As the music industry continues to grapple with the popularity and advancement of AI, some find themselves trying to figure out how to ethically incorporate artificial intelligence into their work. Earlier this month, when music titan Paul McCartney shared that he would be implementing AI in this process of finishing a new as-yet-untitled Beatles song, the news drew strong reactions from both sides of the AI debate.

In a Thursday (June 22) tweet, McCartney clarified his previous comments about AI. “Can’t say too much at this stage but to be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created,” the 18-time Grammy-winner wrote. “It’s all real and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings – a process which has gone on for years.”

“No one is more excited than us to be sharing something with you later in the year,” McCartney continued in his tweet. “We hope you love it as much as we do.”

As he explained in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today that aired June 13, AI would be used to separate vocal tracks from background noise and instruments, not to create new material. McCartney said during the chat that he had been using AI to “extricate” late bandmate John Lennon‘s vocals from an old recording for use on the untitled track.

Deemed the “final Beatles record” by Sir Paul, the BBC speculated that the project could be a recording of “Now and Then,” a somber love song written by Lennon in 1978.

Read McCartney’s tweet clarifying his AI comments below:

Been great to see such an exciting response to our forthcoming Beatles project. No one is more excited than us to be sharing something with you later in the year.

We’ve seen some confusion and speculation about it. Seems to be a lot of guess work out there. Can’t say too much…

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) June 22, 2023