1712QCM Lucas Fisher 2744820

Name: Lucas Fisher

Assignment due date: April 29, 2010

Word count: 1030

1712QCM

Desk-top Publishing Project

Topic:

How has Auto-tune changed the requirements for contemporary vocalists to achieve a pop
chart success?

Assignment Guidelines:

Students must devise and answer an appropriate research question addressing one aspect of
how digital technologies have impacted on music. Based on this research question students are
to submit a music-related essay of approximately 900-1000 words to incorporate:
• Accurate formatting and style sheets
• Tables, indexing, footnotes and reference list
• Ethical practice in sourcing and referencing of materials
• Accuracy and professionalism in spelling, grammar, structure and legibility
• Sectional design including abstract, introduction, conclusion, bibliography and endnotes
This assignment is to be submitted in both electronic and hardcopy format. Failure to do so will
result in a grade of FNS. Hard copies must be submitted via the library and electronic copies
must be emailed to me with the following file name format:
yourfirstname_lastname.doc
eg: jane_smith.doc
1712QCM Lucas Fisher 2744820

Abstract
One aspect of digital technology that has made an impact on music is Auto-tune, a
studio plug-in whose main function is the correction of incorrect notes in a vocal or
other track. Auto-tune has become a staple of the music industry, having influenced
the music industry by changing the requirements for contemporary vocalists to achieve
pop chart success. It has done this by removing a vocalist’s need to be able to sing in
tune, and instead made it a requirement for vocalists to have a marketable image.

Introduction

As technology has developed, numerous developments have been made in every field

where it is used – music is no exception. Over the last century, music technology has

progressed in leaps and bounds, in many ways changing the very nature of the

industry. One of these industry-changing technologies is a studio implement known as

“Auto-tune.” Auto-tune, since its popularisation, has become a staple of the modern

music industry (Antares Audio Technologies). This essay will investigate the ways in

which Auto-tune is changing the requirements for a contemporary vocalist to achieve a

pop chart success, as well as give a brief insight as to what Auto-tune is.

Literature Review

The literature available on the subject is varied in opinion – some believe that Auto-

tune is creating inventive new music, while others believe that it is undermining the

“authenticity” of the music that is available, or creating substandard new music. The

former of these arguments is primarily fuelled by the popularity that the Auto-tune

sound has brought artists such as Akon, R Kelly, 50 Cent, Lil Kim, Kanye West, Lil

Wayne, and the prime example, T-Pain (Collins, 2008). Elliot Wilson, the editor of rap

magazine XXL, claims that T-Pain “has a good ear for music and writes catchy hooks,"
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(as cited in Farber, 2007, online). R Kelly has hailed fellow hip-hop artist T-Pain as a

“genius” for his work with Auto-tune (as cited in Collins, 2008), and that in a club, the

mechanical vocal sound is “hypnotic” (Collins, 2008, online). Others, however, argue

that Auto-tune takes away from the “humanity” of the music – that people “want the

human touch,” and that Auto-tune “has its uses... but rarely sustains more than a

song,” (Levy, 2007, online). Some even go so far as to say that it sounds like a “sinking

submarines Sat Nav,” (Collins, 2008, online) or that the use of it on lacking vocalists is

“turd polishing,” (Levy, 2007, online).

What is Auto-tune?

When discussion the implications of something as specific as Auto-tune, it is important

to know what it is. Auto-tune, in current terminology, is a studio plug-in primarily

produced and distributed by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-tune presently serves

two purposes – the correction of incorrect notes in a recorded (generally vocal)

performance (Antares Audio Technologies, 2000), or to be over-driven into creating

robotic, warbling vocal sounds (Sillitoe, 1999). Auto-tune’s origins lie in the 1930s

where a simplified equivalent was used in automated telephone messages (Collins,

2008). A voice encoding studio device (or a “vocoder”) was later used by the Zapp Band

in order to create a robotic, machine-like vocal sound (Bush). In 1998, Auto-tune was

used on Cher’s single “Believe” to give her vocals a mechanical sound. Although it was

kept hidden at the time, the sound was achieved by setting Auto-tune’s pitch

correction at a higher speed than the audio that it was processing (Sillitoe, 1999). Since

then, Auto-tune has been employed by countless artists, both as a means of pitch
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correction and as a means to the robotic vocal sounds that populate the current charts

(Collins, 2008). The main example of this is T-Pain, the “Rappa Ternt Sanga” who is

known for using Auto-tune to create robotic vocals on all of his songs. T-Pain has had

resounding success, being featured on songs by Kanye West, Chris Brown, Baby Bash

and Plies and pushing all four songs into the top 10 of Billboard’s Hottest 100 in the

space of four weeks, and has also had nine of his own songs on the Billboard Rhythmic

Top 10, beating the record previously set by 50 Cent (Farber, 2007). Auto-tune is

available in many forms from Antares Audio Technologies (Antares Audio Technologies,

2000).

Auto-tune is Changing the Requirements for Vocalists

The opportunities provided by Auto-tune are impacting the requirements for

contemporary vocalists to achieve pop chart success. Unlike when Cher made use of it

in 1998, Auto-tune is now so readily available that it even has its own iPhone

application (Antares Audio Technologies). According to singer Neko Case, Auto-tune is

present in “About 100 per cent of records that you hear on the radio,” (as cited in

Everett-Green, 2006, online). From these calims, it can be discrened that being able to

sing in tune is no longer a requirement for vocalists, nor is the ability to make use of

skills such as vibrato, as Auto-tune can be used to create vibrato (Antares Audio

Technologies, 2000), and the total monopoly which Auto-tune has on the studio market

means that anyone recorded in a studio can have their intonation tuned to perfection.
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Vocalists Now Require Image Instead of Ability

The “key ingredient,” so to speak, has shifted from musical ability and talent onto

something far more superficial - image (Egnew, 2010). According to multi-award-

winning musician, writer and producer Danielle Egnew, record labels specifically choose

new artists based on how they can sell them , as opposed to how well they can actually

perform, and she cited Britney Spears and Taylor Swift as examples – performers who’s

studio albums have been fixed with Auto-tune and other studio equipment, with

images designed for the sole purpose of selling records – seeing as ““Hot chicks don’t

even have to sing. America Loves a Hot Underdog.” (Egnew, 2010, online). When going

by these statements, it could be said that not only is it no longer required for a vocalist

to be able to sing in tune, but that the use of Auto-tune (when used to keep the vocalist

on the correct pitch) in conjuction with a marketable image is what a vocalist requires

to be successful. Whether it is by removing the requirement for singers to sing well, or

moving the requirement from ability to image, Auto-tune is changing the requirements

for vocalists to achieve pop chart success.

Conclusion

Auto-tune, just like many other aspects of digital music, has made a considerable

impact on music as a whole since its introduction. In particular, Auto-tune has shaped

the current industry to make itself almost ubiquitously necessary by changing the

requirements for contemporary vocalists to achieve pop chart success. It has done this

by removing the emphasis on a singer’s ability, and moved it onto the use of Auto-tune

and having a marketable image.

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Antares Audio Technologies. (n.d.). Antares history. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from
Antares Audio Technologies: http://www.antarestech.com/about/history.shtml

Antares Audio Technologies. (2000). Auto-Tune user's manual. Retrieved April 14,
2010, from Antares Audio Technologies:
http://www.antarestech.com/downloads/Auto-Tune_Manual.pdf

Antares Audio Technologies. (n.d.). I am T-Pain. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Antares
Audio Tehcnologies: http://www.antarestech.com/products/I-am-t-pain.shtml

Biddle, S. (2009, June 10). What is Auto-Tune, and why does Jay-Z Want it dead?
Retrieved March 20, 2010, from PSFK: http://www.psfk.com/2009/06/what-is-
auto-tune-and-why-does-jay-z-want-it-dead.html

Bush, J. (n.d.). Zapp > Biography. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from allmusic:
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difpxqr5ldte~T1

Collins, H. (2008, June 16). How the Auto-Tune conquered the charts. Retrieved March
10, 2010, from Guardian.co.uk:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/jun/16/howtheautotuneco
nqueredthe

Egnew, D. (2010, April 10). So, how DID Taylor Swift ever land a career as a singer,
when, well… Ouch. Retrieved April 18, 2010, from Music Industry Newswire:
http://musicindustrynewswire.com/2010/04/10/min2877_165542.php

Everett-Green, R. (2006). Ruled by Frankenmusic. The Globe and Mail , R1.

Farber, J. (2007, December 10). Singers do better with T-Pain relief. Retrieved March
11, 2010, from NY Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/12/11/2007-12-
11_singers_do_better_with_tpain_relief-1.html

Fennessey, S. (2008). T-Pain: The original ringleader. XVIBE , 16 (9), 28-29.

Lamb, B. (n.d.). Top 10 Auto-Tune songs. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from About.com:
http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/top10autotune.htm

Levy, J. (2007). New CDs - disco-cyborg takeover: Alternate takes. Rolling Stone
(n1035), 92.
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McKinney, D. (2008, February 5). Auto-Tune abuse in pop music – 10 Examples.

Retrieved March 17, 2010, from HomeTracked:
http://www.hometracked.com/2008/02/05/auto-tune-abuse-in-pop-
music-10-examples/

Sillitoe, S. (1999, February). Recording Cher's 'Believe'. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from
Sound On Sound:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb99/articles/tracks661.htm

Tyrangiel, J. (2009, February 5). Auto-Tune: Why pop music sounds perfect. Retrieved
March 20, 2010, from TIME:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1877372,00.html