Music scene in turmoil

McCartney and Elton John against carte blanche for AI

Former Beatle Paul McCartney spoke out publicly against the British government's AI plans.

(Bild: Ian West / PA / picturedesk.com)

British music legends Paul McCartney and Elton John have called on the government in London to protect artists from loss of earnings due to artificial intelligence (AI). It must "protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists" if they are to continue to exist in the future, said ex-Beatle McCartney in an interview on Sunday.

The British government is planning to revise copyright law in order to promote the development of AI more strongly. In future, AI developers will be able to use material available on the internet to develop and train their programs unless the authors expressly object.

Pop icon Elton John warned in the "Sunday Times" that the planned reform would amount to "allowing all AI companies to trample on the traditional copyright laws that secure artists' livelihoods". "This will allow huge global tech companies to get free and easy access to artists' work to train their artificial intelligence and create competing music," the British singer added.

Music scene rejects plans "completely"
The 77-year-old, who made a fortune with hits such as "Rocket Man" and "Tiny Dancer", went on to warn that the planned reform would "reduce and threaten the income of young artists". The music scene therefore rejected the plan "completely".

McCartney also warned that the planned copyright reform in favor of AI would reduce the incentive for artists to create new works of art and thus lead to a "loss of creativity". "The truth is that the money is going somewhere..." the 82-year-old told the BBC. "Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote 'Yesterday'," McCartney added, referring to one of the Beatles' biggest hits penned by him as an example of the importance of songwriting.

McCartney also emphasized in the interview that he was not fundamentally opposed to the new technology. In 2023, he and former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr used AI to extract the voice of their long-dead bandmate John Lennon from a decades-old bad recording to produce a new song called "Now and Then".

AI "shouldn't rip off creative people"
"I think AI is great and you can do a lot of great things with it," McCartney said. "But it shouldn't rip off creative people."

British Prime Minister Starmer had previously praised AI as a "huge opportunity". At the same time, he assured that his government was trying to strike the right balance between the interests of creators and the further development of artificial intelligence. Consultations on the reform project are therefore planned until February 25, which will also deal with the allocation of rights and remuneration for the use of artistic material.