--- title: "Peter Jackson Threatens to Release Even More AI Beatles Songs" description: "Peter Jackson, who pioneered the AI tech to isolate John Lennon's vocals for The Beatles' \"Now and Then,\" is ready to release more songs." date: "2023-11-08" modified: "2023-11-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/peter-jackson-threatens-release-more-ai-beatles-songs" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "the beatles" - "the digest" --- # Peter Jackson Threatens to Release Even More AI Beatles Songs ![Peter Jackson, who pioneered the AI tech to isolate John Lennon's vocals for The Beatles' "Now and Then," is ready to release more songs.]() *\Image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images\* ## Roll Over Beethoven The Beatles — or at least their surviving two members — recently made a splash by [releasing a new track]() that featured AI-isolated vocals from a 1978 John Lennon demo called "Now and Then." The result, a mid-tier and largely forgettable Beatles bop, had us wondering if perhaps it would have been best to let sleeping dogs lie. Lennon's vocals in particular had an eerie quality to them, sounding almost Auto-Tuned after all the processing. And while the track was advertised as being the very last song of the legendary rock band, world-renowned film director Peter Jackson, who pioneered the AI tech to isolate Lennon's vocals for both the latest track and the recent documentary "Get Back," isn't entirely ready to call it quits just yet. "It did cross my mind!" Jackson told [British newspaper *The Sunday Times*]() when asked if another "final song" could appear in a year or two. "We can take a performance from 'Get Back,' separate John and George \[Harrison\], and then have Paul {McCartney\] and Ringo \[Starr\] add a chorus or harmonies," he added. "You might end up with a decent song but I haven’t had conversations with Paul about that. It’s fanboy stuff, but certainly conceivable." ## Yeah, Yeah, Yeah If "Now and Then" is anything to go by — and that's not to mention the [absolute trainwreck]() of a music video accompanying it — we should take Jackson's threat seriously. Paul McCartney, one of the two Beatles still alive today, has been particularly enthusiastic about reviving his dead bandmate and close writing partner's voice, with or without his direct consent. "I know Paul misses John," Giles Martin, who produced "Now and Then," told *The Sunday Times*. "He was his best mate. There was a falling-out and he died." "It was so destructive for Paul," he added. "But here he had John’s song and thought he’d like to work with him again. I don’t think that’s cynical." But even Jackson knows that the incredibly personal relationships between the legendary musicians deserve to be respected and — perhaps — left alone. "It sounds like John is writing a message as an apology for however he may have behaved," Jackson told the newspaper, referring to "Now and Then." "I found that incredibly moving, that the final Beatles song is the Beatles singing to each other," he added. Let's hope the track stays that way: "final." **More on the Beatles:** *[The Beatles Just Released Their Final Song That Resurrects John Lennon's Voice With AI]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()