By Jenna Wortham
Despite Jay-Z’s best efforts, it looks as if Auto-Tune, the software that adjusts the pitch of a singer’s voice, isn’t destined for the graveyard after all.
Instead, it’s headed to the iPhone.
An application called “I Am T-Pain,” after the rapper who most recently popularized the Auto-Tune software with a liberal use of it in his songs, transforms the iPhone into an auto-tune microphone. The application was developed as a joint collaboration between T-Pain, Antares Audio Technologies, the company that produces the software that creates the vocal effect, and Smule, a start-up that develops applications for the iPhone.
Smule is the company behind Ocarina, a popular iPhone application that turns the phone into an ancient clay wind instrument.
“This is our latest experiment,” said Ge Wang, co-founder and chief technology office at Smule. “There’s no shortage of celebrity apps in the App Store, but the feeling was that a lot of them didn’t capture the essence of the artist.”
Mr. Wang said that T-Pain was a fan of Smule’s musical applications and approached him about the collaboration. They worked with Antares to develop the application.
The application, which costs $2.99, turns the iPhone into an Auto-Tune microphone, allowing users to sing alongside popular T-Pain tracks. “I Am T-Pain” comes bundled with five songs, including the radio hits “Bartender” and “Sprung.” Players will also have the option of buying more songs via the application to digitally harmonize along with.
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