They manage to survive with a little help from… artificial intelligence? Despite parting ways over 50 years ago, The Beatles, arguably the most renowned musicians of all time, are staging a comeback. Both components leveraged technology that was unavailable during the peak of Beatlemania, and the recently unveiled recording, now hailed as the Beatles’ ultimate song, has been accompanied by a music video. This serves as yet another example of how AI is progressively infiltrating various aspects of our daily lives.
“Now and Then,” crafted and performed by John Lennon shortly before his tragic death in 1980, was unveiled in June. Lennon, at his Dakota residence in New York, played the piano while capturing the raw track on a boom box.
Yoko Ono, Lennon’s partner, presented the demo tape to Paul McCartney in 1994. In the mid-1990s, the surviving members of the Beatles endeavored to record the song, but quality issues thwarted the band’s efforts, despite McCartney’s admiration for Lennon’s vocals and the “beautiful verse” of the melody.
Throughout the years, the surviving Beatles continued to contribute to the composition. Despite George Harrison’s demise in 2001, Ringo Starr and McCartney persisted with the project.
The recent release combines “Now and Then,” purportedly the final Beatles track, with their debut single from 1962, “Love Me Do,” as a double A-side single. The surviving Beatles dubbed this as “a truly fitting full-circle counterpart” in a press release.
This development might be one of the least controversial applications of Artificial Intelligence in the music industry.
The rise of conversational AI, exemplified by ChatGPT, which mimics human-like responses to our queries, has been noticeable in recent times. While this is just one facet of AI, it has sparked concerns about potential dire consequences. Could AI eventually supplant writers, artists, and musicians to the extent that its positive impact is overshadowed by apprehensions?
Nonetheless, AI has long been operating inconspicuously and mostly uncontroversially in various other capacities. From enhancing photos on smartphones to providing chat suggestions, AI serves as a versatile tool, even aiding in music production.
Observing the “Now and Then” Beatles music video
The accompanying music video for the song was released last Friday. It features a four-minute montage of vintage Beatles photos juxtaposed with contemporary footage of Starr and McCartney. The updated versions of Starr and McCartney can be seen playing music and engaging with the camera alongside their older selves in scenes blending the two surviving Beatles with archival footage.
The video’s concept has not been universally embraced. Britain’s Telegraph labeled it as “chilling” and an “act of digital necromancy.” However, many YouTube viewers who commented on the video did not share this sentiment, expressing nostalgia for the Beatles instead.
It can indeed be disconcerting to witness the deceased Beatles bantering and performing alongside their former bandmates, especially with John Lennon’s presence. The scarcity of suitable footage almost deterred director Peter Jackson from completing the video. However, contributions from all parties involved ultimately encouraged its completion.
Apple Records unearthed 14 days’ worth of old footage, while former Beatle Pete Best provided a never-before-seen performance clip. Additionally, McCartney and Starr filmed new segments for the video.
The inclusion of home video footage from Lennon’s son Sean and Harrison’s wife Olivia sheds light on the video’s technical wizardry. While hearing Lennon’s digitally enhanced voice may be one thing, seeing the two Beatles in action, despite their passing, is another. Technological advancements can resurrect voices, but they cannot bring back loved ones who have departed, underscoring the poignant aspect of this situation.
While I remain uncertain about endorsing such technologies, the support from Lennon’s and Harrison’s families for this endeavor provides some reassurance. Just as Fred Astaire’s widow approved a commercial featuring the late star, the endorsement from Lennon’s and Harrison’s loved ones adds a layer of acceptance to this new venture.
The utilization of technology in music production, whether AI-driven or not, does not perturb me as much. Lennon’s vocals were authentic, with engineering serving to enhance the overall performance, allowing a beloved artist to deliver one final song.
The intersection of songs and AI
AI’s increasing presence in the music industry has garnered mixed reactions. Singer-songwriter Nick Cave dismissed an AI-generated song in his style as “grotesque ridicule” early in 2023.
Rapper Bad Bunny made headlines on November 8 for a series of popular TikTok videos using FlowGPT to mimic his lyrics, as well as those of Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee. Bad Bunny explicitly stated on his WhatsApp channel that he did not want AI-generated music fans attending his concerts or associating themselves with his fanbase.
On the other hand, there are individuals like singer and director Taryn Southern, who embraced AI technology in music. In 2018, Southern collaborated with Southwestern to produce “I Am AI,” a song composed entirely by an artificial intelligence program, incorporating lyrics and music from the artist.
The debate surrounding AI’s impact on the future of music is becoming harder to evade. Time magazine’s compilation of the 100 most influential figures in AI, which included two musicians, underscores the growing significance of AI in the music landscape. Singer-songwriter Holly Herndon’s 2021 project, where she impersonated herself as Holly+, paved the way for other artists to leverage similar techniques in training neural systems on their voices.
Grimes, an independent artist, also made strides in this realm by launching the Artificial program Elf, enabling others to “speak through her words.” Grimes encouraged artists to release tracks using this technology, provided they share profits with her, as reported by Time.
Given that music holds deep personal significance for creators and audiences alike, resistance to labeling such art as “artificial” may arise. However, with major figures like the Beatles and Grammy Award involvement, dismissing AI in music as robotic and lifeless is no longer tenable.
The Beatles music: A fusion of tradition and technology
McCartney disclosed in June that an AI system was employed to isolate Lennon’s vocals from background noise in order to enhance the audio quality. Director Peter Jackson, known for his work on The Beatles: Get Back in 2021, was credited for this technological feat. McCartney acknowledged that Jackson “extracted John’s words from a dodgy little bit of cassette.”
Further details reveal that Jackson utilized music understanding technology, or MAL, from WingNut Films to refine the Beatles video by stripping away extraneous elements, as reported by The New York Times. Machine learning, a key component of AI, enables computers to recognize patterns independently. Additionally, Holly Herndon’s comments in an AP article suggest that the track’s production involved “source separation,” a process significantly facilitated by machine learning.
Moreover, Lennon’s vocals and instrumentation were not artificially generated, as highlighted by The New York Times. The AI technology was predominantly used to enhance the overall performance rather than fabricate specific elements.
AI applications in music production
Recent developments have sparked discussions on the evolving role of AI in music creation.
An anonymous individual known as Writer garnered attention with the release of “Heart on My Sleeve” in April, a track where AI was used to emulate the voices of Drake and The Weeknd. This aligns more closely with the conventional perception of AI’s role in contemporary music. Notably, neither Drake nor The Weeknd were directly involved in the production of this music.
However, the creation of “Heart on My Sleeve” did not entail a mere replication of Drake’s and The Weeknd’s songs by an AI system. The bulk of the track was composed and recorded by human creators. AI voice filters were utilized to mimic the voices of the two artists.
According to a representative from Ghostwriter, the entity behind this project, “Ghostwriter strived to match the content, delivery, tone, and vocabulary of the established superstars before integrating AI components.”
The Grammy Awards dilemma
The controversy surrounding the eligibility of Ghostwriter’s music for Grammy consideration escalated following conflicting statements from Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
Initially, Mason asserted to The New York Times that the song could qualify for Grammy consideration since it was crafted by a human. However, he later retracted this statement on Instagram, citing issues with the song’s authorization and commercial availability. Universal Music Group, the parent company of labels representing The Weeknd and Drake, had requested the removal of the music from popular streaming platforms back in April.
Despite this, Wired confirmed via email from the Recording Academy that “Heart on My Sleeve” was indeed on the Grammys ballot upon its release in October. In response to the impending award eligibility deadline, Ghostwriter informed Billboard that an updated version of the song, devoid of AI voice filters, was uploaded to streaming services.
Divergent perspectives on AI in music
McCartney has expressed a degree of apprehension regarding AI’s influence on music. He remarked on his limited internet usage, where he was informed of AI-generated songs featuring John singing his compositions. McCartney found this both intriguing and slightly unnerving, acknowledging it as a glimpse into the future.
Conversely, Writer envisions potential business models that could benefit artists whose voices are replicated without consent. According to Ghostwriter, “I believe there will soon be infrastructure that enables artists to not only contract their voices but also do so with permissions. For example, let’s say I’m designer X, and I want to permit my voice out, but I only want 50 % of the money made.” Additionally, customers are not permitted to use my words in political or hate speech. Such rights may be granted to certain types of technology. I believe that is where we are going.
While ensuring artists receive due credit and preventing the dissemination of hateful content are commendable goals, the potential implications of these changes are likely to spark fervent debates, particularly given the longstanding emphasis on artistic independence in music.
For those raised on the ethos of musicians asserting control over their art, such as Prince’s symbolic protest against Warner Music’s control, the evolving landscape of AI in music may evoke concerns. However, the prospect of encountering malevolent robots or nuclear weapons in the music industry seems improbable. Ghostwriter’s optimistic outlook on artist compensation and content control aligns with the industry’s evolving ethos, where artists are less likely to tolerate exploitation or abuse. The backlash against unauthorized use of artists’ music in political contexts exemplifies the impassioned response such actions can provoke.
Initially wary of AI’s encroachment into music, my perspective has evolved upon witnessing its positive impact, such as the restoration of John Lennon’s voice from archival recordings.
The Beatles’ endorsement
While the utilization of modern technology to enhance vintage recordings may require adjustment, the surviving Beatles appear supportive of this approach.
A 12-minute documentary detailing the creation of “Now and Then” premiered on YouTube and Disney Plus last week. McCartney pondered whether Lennon would have approved of their completion of his song. His resolute answer was “Yeah! He would have adored that.”
Sean Lennon echoes McCartney’s sentiments, stating, “My father would have loved that because he was not afraid to experiment with recording engineering.” Ringo Starr refers to the opportunity to collaborate with his late bandmate’s vocals as “far out.”
At one point, McCartney makes a poignant request for Lennon’s voice to be isolated from the ambient piano and household noises that permeated the original tape. The iconic vocals, blending the old and the new, resonate distinctly and evocatively.
“We’re playing around with cutting-edge systems, which the Beatles would have been very curious in,” reflects McCartney on the innovative approach to music production.
