Has Music Software Made Music Worse?

Billy Corgan doesn’t seem to like it when new tech enters the music industry.

Although the 90s icon used AI to create a recent multi-language online advert for his iconic band, The Smashing Pumpkins, he remains cautious about other tech in music; tech he believes is problematic.

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In a new interview with Goldmine Magazine, Corgon takes aim at Pro Tools and “Pro Tools-type software” to express his discontent at how digital audio workstations (DAWs) have affected the music industry at large:

“In many ways, [Pro Tools] has made music much worse. It brought a lot of people into the music business that really have no business being in the music business,” Corgan says. “…Pro Tools, as a sort of way of making music, on some level, has levelled the playing field that allowed people who can’t sing to sound like they can sing. And people who can’t play guitar now sound like they can.”

Later on in the interview, Corgan extends his point of view on Pro Tools to AI, referring to how streaming services are approach the new tech:

“OK, so whenever a new technology shows up, people are right to raise the alarm,” Corgan says. “We can already see people using AI to generate lyrics, melodies, and chord changes. Streaming services are already buying companies to make AI-generated music, so they don’t have to pay human beings. They can just take the money themselves.”

How AI is affecting music has been a prominent topic of conversation within the industry of late. Heart on My Sleeve” a song created by the anonymous user Ghostwriter to include AI-generated versions of Drake and The Weeknd’s vocals was nearly eligible for a Grammy nomination.

However, the Recording Academy (which oversees the Grammys) clarified the rules on AI, summarizing, “A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any categories.”

Corgan ensures human authorship and creativity are central to The Smashing Pumpkins process even after over 30 years of being a band:

“Not to get too technical, but we still use amps. There’s no amp modelling; it’s all raw power. It’s guitars and amps into cabinets and mics. We still believe in moving air, whereas a lot of rock records are made in the box,” Corgan says.

Corgan has voiced his criticism of Pro Tools in the past. Notably, in 2022, he likened Pro Tools to “the filter on Instagram.”

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