The song features Lennon\u2019s vocals from a 1978 demo tape, guitar recorded by Harrison in 1996, and new contributions of bass, guitar and drums from surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.<\/p>\n
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The Beatles \u201cfinal song\u201d was released on Friday morning.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Universal Music<\/cite><\/p>\n It\u2019s a project that sat on the shelf for almost 30 years; an attempt was made to record the songs in the 1996 sessions that produced Real Love<\/em> and Free As a Bird<\/em>, but the band was unable to isolate the piano and vocal parts in Lennon\u2019s demos. The evolution of AI technology, hastened by Peter Jackson\u2019s The Beatles: Get Back<\/em> documentary in 2021, finally made it possible last year.<\/p>\n Talking to BBC Radio 1 on Friday morning (AEDT), McCartney said the Beatles were always drawn to technology that was a little offbeat: \u201cLike the first time we heard a tape go backwards by mistake we went, \u2018Oh, what\u2019s that?\u2019 and we wanted to put that on our record whereas other people would just go, \u2018Oh come on get the tape on the right way and let\u2019s get on with it\u2019. But we always grabbed little things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n But is there appetite for a new Beatles song in 2023? And does the release of a song made using AI raise ethical questions? We asked some music experts.<\/p>\n Darren Middleton has performed in tributes to Let It Be and Abbey Road.<\/span><\/p>\n Darren Middleton of Powderfinger and Australian Rock Collective, who have performed Let It Be<\/em> and Abbey Road<\/em> tribute shows, is excited about Now and Then<\/em>. \u201cI think it\u2019s incredible that the technology exists to let fans get to hear John, George, Paul and Ringo again on the same track,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have the actual voice of John, the guitar of George \u2013 that is what makes it interesting and incredibly appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n Songwriting and technology are both constantly evolving, Middleton says. \u201cThese things are all tools,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the end of the day, we are always trying to find connection in life through song and songwriting and if the tech helps, then OK.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Jadey O\u2019Regan is an academic at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.<\/span><\/p>\n The Beatles often made use of new technology, says Dr Jadey O\u2019Regan, a lecturer in contemporary music practice at Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the co-author of Hooks in Popular Music<\/i>.<\/p>\n She points specifically to the reverse guitars on Taxman <\/em>and the way Lennon\u2019s vocals were fed through the Leslie speaker cabinet (usually used for an organ) on Tomorrow Never Knows<\/em>. \u201cThe Beatles are really inspired by the technology of the studio; they used it like an instrument,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is an extension of that.\u201d<\/p>\n But the release of a new Beatles song comes at a time when local musicians are finding it especially difficult to cut through, and very few are making it onto the charts.<\/p>\n O\u2019Regan says: \u201cThere\u2019s a tension between younger, newer artists trying to carve out space for their own original music when these giants in the canon of rock are still making music and still taking up that space.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, O\u2019Regan notes that not everyone is across the Beatles\u2019 substantial catalogue, and Now and Then<\/em> and the Get Back<\/em> documentary offer an entry point for younger audiences.<\/p>\n She has seen that firsthand in her work. \u201cI can\u2019t use the Beatles as a touchstone as much as I could maybe 10 years ago,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re now discovering the Beatles in a way they didn\u2019t growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n Jane Gazzo is concerned about the impact of AI on music.<\/span><\/p>\n The music fan in award-winning journalist, presenter and broadcaster Jane Gazzo thinks a new Beatles song is fantastic. \u201cIt could be said, \u2018John\u2019s raised from the dead! George is back from the dead!\u2019\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cIn some ways, it\u2019s really exciting. But I do worry AI will take over.\u201d She likens the new song to the holograms of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. \u201cThere\u2019s part of you that knows that it\u2019s not real, but you\u2019re carried away,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The use of AI raises a number of ethical questions for her: \u201cHow much AI is involved? At what point does it stop being the Beatles and does it become something completely manufactured? Should the Beatles be left alone for us to enjoy the back catalogue? Is this something we should embrace?\u201d<\/p>\n Now and Then<\/em>\u2019s release is happening when the music market is saturated and Spotify is changing the way it pays artists, with the introduction of a minimum number of streams before a song starts generating royalties. Gazzo sees that in this landscape people are turning to nostalgic music for comfort: \u201cPeople are looking for something that\u2019s nostalgic, that\u2019s wholesome, that brings a smile to your face.\u201d<\/p>\n Alli Galloway has been working in the music industry for almost 20 years.<\/span><\/p>\n Alli Galloway, who has been working in the music industry for almost 20 years, most recently as a marketing executive at Warner Music and now as chief marketing officer at music credits database Jaxsta, thinks the song is \u201ca really wonderful thing for Beatles fans\u201d.<\/p>\n Like Middleton, Galloway sees the use of AI in the song as part of the \u201cnatural progression\u201d of music technology. \u201cThere\u2019s a world of difference here between what the Beatles are doing with John\u2019s demo vocals versus other examples of music AI where the music is completely created, manipulated by AI. I don\u2019t necessarily agree with that.\u201d<\/p>\n She thinks there\u2019s potential for this technology to add to the catalogues of more than just the Beatles. \u201cThat\u2019s really exciting from the perspective of music fans,\u201d Galloway says. \u201cAs a 90s R&B fan, wouldn\u2019t it be amazing to hear another TLC song?\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Alan Hui is the co-author of a recent report into AI and the creative industries in Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt will be interesting to see what fans, musicians and creators will do [with AI],\u201d says Dr Alan Hui, director of policy at think tank A New Approach and co-author of a new report into AI\u2019s impact on the arts and cultural industries.<\/p>\n He points to the Grimes AI, Elf.Tech, as one example of musicians using the technology. \u201cThere are already a handful of examples of generative AI trained to mimic or \u2018recreate\u2019 the sounds of particular singers,\u201d he says. \u201cAt least one Australian musician has used the Grimes AI to make music.\u201d<\/p>\nMusician Darren Middleton<\/h3>\n
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Academic Jadey O\u2019Regan<\/h3>\n
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Critic Jane Gazzo<\/h3>\n
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Industry stalwart Alli Galloway<\/h3>\n
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Academic Alan Hui<\/h3>\n
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