Laws Must Protect ‘The Guy Who Wrote Yesterday’ From AI, Urges Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney has urged that musicians be protected from the effects of proposed changes to AI regulation.

The legendary singer-songwriter, whose own fortune made through his music is estimated at £1billion ($1.25bn), told the BBC that, if the new rules come into effect allowing AI developers to use creators’ content unless they opt out, it will be much harder for musicians to make a living in the way he did as a songwriter starting out.

Former Beatle Sir Paul 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, and 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?” (McCartney wrote the Beatles classic in 1965)

He added: “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.”

This comes after McCartney and his fellow surviving Beatle Sir Ringo Starr used AI to extract the late John Lennon’s vocals from a demo left behind, to create a new song Now and Then. The song has been billed as The Beatles’ very final song and enjoyed critical praise on its release in 2023, nominated for two Grammy Awards.