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Paul McCartney Adds Near‑Silent 'Bonus Track' to AI Protest Album Ahead of Vinyl Release

The move underscores a campaign pressing the UK to reject copyright changes that would ease AI training on music.

Overview

  • McCartney’s 2:45 “Bonus Track” captures an empty studio with hiss and faint clicks, offering no melody or vocals.
  • The track features on Is This What We Want?, a largely silent project whose original one-word titles spell, “The British Government Must Not Legalize Music Theft to Benefit AI Companies.”
  • More than 1,000 artists, including Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn, contributed to the album to oppose an opt‑out approach to text‑and‑data mining for AI.
  • A limited vinyl edition is due Dec. 8, with only 1,000 copies pressed and profits donated to the charity Help Musicians.
  • The government says it is engaging both creatives and AI firms to ensure protections for artists, with any new legal framework not expected to reach Parliament before 2026.