Ringo Starr admits he’s “afraid” of AI taking over music
Despite The Beatles using artificial intelligence to finish their final track, ‘Now and Then’, Ringo Starr has admitted to being “afraid” of the technology.
The Beatles have been nominated for ‘Record of the Year’ at the Grammys for ‘Now and Then’, which they released in 2023. John Lennon initially recorded the song as a demo, and his widow, Yoko Ono, later gave the recording to the surviving members of The Beatles, as Lennon had intended.
The surviving members first attempted to record the track in 1995 as a trio when they made ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’ for the Anthology project. However, due to issues with technology, The Beatles were unable to complete ‘Now and Then’ for almost 30 years.
During the making of Get Back, director Peter Jackson developed the AI system, MAL, which finally allowed The Beatles to clean up Lennon’s vocals from the original demo recording and bring it up to today’s standards.
In a new interview with Music Week, Starr reflected on the process, explaining, “We tried it in the ’90s when we got [1995 single] ‘Free As A Bird’ out, but we didn’t take much interest because it didn’t sound like John, and George got a bit fed up.”
The drummer continued: “He didn’t want to do a third one and so we just put it to bed, but now they’ve got better equipment. They lifted John’s voice off a cassette, for God’s sake – off a cassette! And it was like John was suddenly in town.”
Starr is holding out hope that ‘Now and Then’ will be victorious at the Grammys in February, which is featured in the ‘Record of the Year’ category alongside songs by Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. It’s also nominated for ‘Best Rock Performance’. “I’d love to win a Grammy. That’s the business I’m in – and the track is good. The last track ever by the boys,” he remarked.
Ringo’s AI fears
However, while AI helped bring ‘Now and Then’ to life, Starr is wary that the same technology could be used as a negative force in the music industry. The drummer remarked: “We’re all a bit afraid of it, because it can steal you. Anyone who knows how to use it can steal you.”
Starr then said that if a computer was fed five of his songs, it would be able to learn his “every vocal move,” which could allow it to “have me sing anything.” He finds this a frightening proposition and hopes it will be avoided.
On the other hand, Starr knows first-hand that AI can also be a force for good, adding, “But the good side is the way we used it on ‘Now And Then’. God knows where it’s going to go. We’re all worrying about it, but nobody’s really stolen anything yet.”
The issue surrounding AI isn’t only related to the music industry, but the entirety of the creative sector. Earlier this week, Friends star Lisa Kudrow criticised the latest Tom Hanks movie, Here, for using technology that de-aged actors, which she claimed was an endorsement of AI.
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