Paul McCartney Joins Music Industry Protest Against AI with Silent Track Contribution

Photo: Bill Kelly

After a five-year suspension without new music, Paul McCartney has contributed a bonus track to the forthcoming album, Is This What We Want?, due on December 8, 2025. However, there’s a notable lack of the Beatles’ signatures, a melodic path, an emotional pulse, or even a chorus to cling to; instead, the track turns to blank, intentional silence to evoke AI’s impact on artists and music industry professionals. 

While McCartney is currently on the North American leg of his Got Back Tour, he joins a list of more than 1,000 musicians who initially came together in February 2025 in opposition to proposed changes by the UK government and ongoing anti-regulation pressure from Donald Trump’s regime. The collective of creative professionals shares a plea to stop tech companies from teaching AI systems about their own output, thereby preventing imitation and preserving the innate capacity to deliver authentic, original work. 

Like McCartney’s silent single, others add to the hollow emptiness signifying the future of music if laws don’t favor the artist. For the making of this record, mics were placed in specific spots, from studios and performance venues, capturing the profound muteness that occurs when the individuals who bring life, warmth, and art are absent from the process. 

Expressing his concern for the future of music in the AI era, Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and campaigner regarding copyright fairness for Is This What We Want?, tells the Guardian: “I am very concerned the government is paying more attention to US tech companies’ interests rather than British creatives’ interests.”

In addition to McCartney’s participation, other acts and respected artists, such as Hans Zimmer, Kate Bush, San Fender, and the Pet Shop Boys, are also backing the campaign. The ingenuity of the artists above and dozens more that participated in the project conveys a message through the tracking list: “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.”

McCartney has been particularly outspoken about AI and the minister’s plan to cut a new deal with AI companies like Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI, which require mass access to training information, such as written texts, images, and, of course, music.

Pre-order the LP here.