Death By Auto-Tune

What do pop stars and Big Oil have in common?

Skip around Spotify today (or the radio, if you‘re old school), and you’ll hear some amazing records, performed by famous artists. In many cases, these artists are genuinely talented musicians.

In more than a few cases, not so much.

If you haven’t been living under a rock, then you’re probably familiar with Auto-Tune. Simply put, Auto-Tune is an amazing software plugin that can correct slightly (or not so slightly) out of tune performances in the studio. (And now in live performances as well.) It’s so magical that it can make mediocre but entertaining performers appear to be competent and entertaining performers.

But Auto-Tune isn’t just for correcting slightly out of tune performances any more. From the contralto warbling of Cher on “Believe” to the purposefully electronic strains of T-Pain to the godawful Meth-Country of Florida Georgia Line, producers and artists are increasingly using Auto-Tune in a deliberately ham-handed way, as if to mechanize the very soul of modern music.

Sadly, many consumers think it’s cool. So producers produce more of it. And more people expect that…