BusinessAug 17, 2026, 5:20 AM

Column: The Beatles release song ‘Now and Then’ featuring a fifth member, artificial intelligence - The Daily Tar Heel

30-second summary

The Beatles released a new song, Now and Then, featuring AI-enhanced vocals from John Lennon. The track marks the band's first release in decades.

TickrWire
Key takeaways
  • The Beatles released 'Now and Then' as their first new song in decades, using AI to reconstruct John Lennon's vocals from 1990s demo tapes.
  • AI tools isolated and enhanced Lennon's voice, allowing the band to complete the track after decades of work.
  • The release raises ethical questions about using AI to revive deceased artists' voices in modern music.
  • The single includes an AI-generated music video, showcasing the band's embrace of cutting-edge technology.
Full story

The Beatles have released their final single, Now and Then, featuring artificial intelligence to reconstruct John Lennon's vocals from old demo recordings. The song, originally worked on in the 1990s, was completed using AI tools to isolate Lennon's voice from cassette tapes and enhance its clarity. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr collaborated with producer Giles Martin to finalize the track, marking the band's first new music in over 40 years.

The use of AI in music production has sparked discussions about the ethical implications of resurrecting deceased artists' voices. While some fans celebrate the innovation, others raise concerns about authenticity and the potential commercialization of legacy artists. The Beatles' decision reflects a growing trend in the industry, where AI is increasingly used to restore or enhance archival recordings.

Now and Then is accompanied by a music video featuring AI-generated imagery and archival footage, further blending technology with the band's storied history.

Sponsored
Why this matters
Everyone

The Beatles' use of AI to resurrect John Lennon's voice marks a historic moment in music and technology.

Glossary
AI voice reconstruction
A technique using artificial intelligence to isolate and enhance vocal recordings from degraded or incomplete audio sources.
Sources · 1
Read next
More stories
TickrWireAI News Intelligence

We aggregate, verify, summarise and explain the latest artificial intelligence news from open, legal sources.

Daily AI digest

Top AI stories, summarised, in your inbox each morning.

© 2026 TickrWire. Summaries and analysis are AI-generated and may contain errors.