The Beatles are launching an ‘incomplete’ John Lennon song using AI in 2023

In a recent interview with the BBC, Paul McCartney revealed that a "final Beatles record" created with the help of artificial intelligence will be released later this year.

"When we came to make what will be the last Beatles record... We were able to get John's voice through AI."

Ahead of his exhibition at @NPGLondon of Beatles photos, Sir Paul McCartney spoke to @Marthakearney and revealed that a new record will be released this year.#R4Today

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— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) June 13, 2023

After disbanding in 1970, the legendary group known as The Beatles, comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, pursued solo careers without ever reuniting as a band. Tragically, Lennon was fatally shot in New York City in 1980 at the age of 40, while Harrison passed away from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 58

AI helps bring back ‘The Beatles’

During the interview, Paul McCartney, aged 80, disclosed that artificial intelligence technology was used to isolate the voices of the Beatles from background noise in Peter Jackson's documentary series, "The Beatles: Get Back," released in 2021.

McCartney explained that AI technology was used to separate Lennon's voice and a piano from a demo recording, allowing them to work on and finish the song.

Now & Then

Utilising the AI tech, McCartney revealed that a previously unheard Beatles song has been completed and is scheduled for release later this year. The song is likely to be named "Now And Then," as per BBC reports, which is a 1978 composition by John Lennon.

This project was made possible through collaboration with Peter Jackson, the director of the documentary series "The Beatles: Get Back."

"I'm not on the internet that much, (but) people will say to me, 'Oh, yeah, there's a track where John's singing one of my songs,' and it's just AI, you know and it's kind of scary but exciting, because it's the future. We'll just have to see where that leads."

Paul McCartney, former songwriter, The Beatles

'Eyes of the Storm' the Beatles photo exhibition

In addition to his musical endeavors, McCartney will also have a photography exhibition featuring his previously unseen images from the early Beatles era, titled "Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm," opening later this month at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

📷 1964: Eyes of the Storm 📷
Photographs and Reflections by Paul McCartney
Out now!

Take a look inside #EyesOfTheStorm and find your copy here: https://t.co/CDhNTSvjez pic.twitter.com/yWbpbs9cFy

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) June 13, 2023

It features more than 250 never seen images that McCartney took on his Pentax camera between November 1963 and February 1964 as the craze for The Beatles emerged.

Is AI in music a matter of concern or a good thing?

AI has been a hot topic for some time now, its implementation in different areas i.e. education, music, automobile, and various other sectors has rapidly increased which is raising concerns for professionals and their work.

AI relies on existing information or data, for example, music which is already there, to learn. Concerns are high among top people in the music industry about whether AI could be used to cover songs and replace artists.

The President of Global Digital Business at Sony Music, Dennis Kooker, said, "We're supportive of uses of AI where it can help us to work smarter," he further stated "We have serious concerns about the potential for AI-synthesised voice technology to be used at scale to cover songs and attempt to replace artists. This is something that we need to watch very closely."