Auto-Tune always and forever

Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network

Music Interviews, Music History, Music, Music Commentary

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Popular music changes all the time, but there’s been one consistent element in practically everything released in the last two decades: Auto-Tune is everywhere. What started as a simple audio processing tool in the 1990s has become the dominant force in music. Artists are training to sing with Auto-Tune; songs sound like Auto-Tune. Like it or hate it, Auto-Tune is everywhere. And to be clear, most people like it. On this episode of The Vergecast music journalist and Switched on Pop co-host Charlie Harding tells us the story of Auto-Tune. (Disclosure: Switched on Pop is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network, as is The Vergecast.) It starts, of all places, in the oil and gas industry. It involves artists like Cher and T-Pain, spreads like wildfire throughout the music business, and quickly becomes so utterly ubiquitous that you probably notice when Auto-Tune isn’t used more than when it is. As we barrel toward whatever the “AI era” of music will be, we also look for clues in Auto-Tune’s story that point to what’s coming next. We talk about the distinct sound that comes from tools like Suno and Udio, how artists will use and abuse AI, and whether we should be worried about what it all means. We haven’t yet found the “Believe” of the AI music era, but it’s probably coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for this podcast comes from Huntress.
0:03.4	Keeping your data safe is important.
0:05.8	However, if you're a small business owner, then protecting the information of yourself, your company, and your workers is vital.
0:12.7	In comes Huntress.
0:14.5	Huntress is where fully managed cybersecurity meets human expertise.
0:20.0	They offer a revolutionary approach to manage security that isn't all about tech.
0:25.3	It's about real people providing real defense.
0:28.6	When threats arise or issues occur, their team of seasoned cyber experts is ready.
0:33.8	24 hours a day, 365 days a year for support.
0:38.1	Visit huntress.com slash Vox to start a free trial or learn more. Hey, it's Charlie. It's that time of year. We're thinking about all of our resolutions, about how we want to improve our lives. And I'll tell you what I'm resolving to do. I want more autotune in my life. You might be thinking, wait a minute, hold on, more autotune. Haven't people declared the death of Autotune years ago? I think that we are still in the early days of figuring
1:16.1	out how to maximize the emotional capabilities that Autotune gives us. You're thinking,
1:21.2	wait, emotion, Autotune? Yes, seriously. I was recently on the Verge's premiere podcast,
1:29.8	The Verge cast, speaking with Editor-at- Pierce about the surprising history of Autotune and its connection, no joke,
1:35.9	to the oil and gas industry, and tracing its creative development over the many decades. And I think
1:43.2	there's still a lot that we can get from auto tune
1:46.2	yet. Here's that conversation with David Pierce on the Vergecast. Welcome to the Vergecast,
1:55.2	the flagship podcast of the difference between reverb and Dverb. I'm your friend David Pierce,
2:00.4	and I have decided that I am going
2:02.1	to relearn how to play the guitar. So I have this guitar that sits behind me on all of my meetings
2:07.0	and all of my podcast recordings, and so people are often like, oh, that's cool. Do you play
2:10.7	guitar? What's your favorite song? Do you know time of your life by Green Day? Like, all this stuff. And the answer is I don't really play. I used to. I played a lot when
2:18.0	I was a kid for a long time. I was actually pretty good at it. But then I got to that point that
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -98 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.