Listen to what the man said: Paul McCartney uses sound of silence to speak out about AI

At two minutes 45 seconds it's about the same length as With a Little Help from My Friends.

- Robert Booth UK technology editor

But Paul McCartney's first new recording in five years lacks the singalong tune and jaunty guitar chops - because there's barely anything there.

The former Beatle, arguably Britain's greatest living songwriter, is releasing the sound of an almost completely silent recording studio as part of a music industry protest against copyright theft by artificial intelligence companies.

In place of catchy melodies and evocative lyrics there is only quiet hiss and the odd clatter. It suggests that if AI companies unfairly exploit musicians' intellectual property to train their generative AI models, the creative ecosystem will be wrecked and original music silenced.

McCartney has contributed the track to an album of similarly silent recordings called “Is This What We Want?”. Originally released digitally in February, the compilation is now being issued on vinyl with the McCartney “tune” as a bonus track.

The physical release comes as musicians and artists step up their campaign to persuade the government to stop technology companies from training AI models on their creative output without seeking approval or paying royalties. On the other side of the debate, Britain is facing anti-regulation pressure from the US.

Ed Newton-Rex, the composer and campaigner for copyright fairness behind the protest album, said: "I am very concerned the government is paying more attention to US tech companies' interests rather than British creatives' interests."