Randy Travis' AI-Generated Song Has Me Conflicted 

I personally think Randy has earned the right to do this, and it was done pretty tastefully and sounds exactly like him

Honestly, if Randy didn’t have a part in it I’d be more against it. There’s a real band, real songwriters and he had a huge part in it. It makes sense 🤷🏻‍♂️

My opinion is that it would be wrong to tell Randy Travis that he isn't allowed to use available technology to put out music. That, imo, is no different than telling him he can't use text to voice technology to speak. Let the general public decide whether it is something that they want to listen to or not. The actual ethical question is whether it's okay to use the voice of a person who is deceased or otherwise not able to consent.

If Randy wants it, let him have it. It's his life.

I completely get it on Randy Travis’ end, I just wish there was more honesty about it before the release, and I hope this isn’t a doorway for other artists to do the same

I don’t mind this as long as the artist is on board. I think that there should be a note beside the vocalists indicating that it’s AI

I'm not conflicted at all. Randy deserves this.

Ultimately this comes down to people’s fear and inability to accept and come to terms with death. We can’t accept that artists we love (and therefore ourselves) will inevitably age, grow ill, and at some point, die, and we’re trying to subvert that reality by immortalizing music with AI.

i like that it is used if the artist is alive but if they are dead, let the dead rest. i am sorta on the fence of AI.

3:46 On the other hand there’s a golden band to remind me of someone who would not understand

9:36 Never thought you’d reference Hatsune Miku and yet here we are

Pandora’s box is fully opened now. I understand the argument of “it’s technically his own voice, he can do what he wants with it,” but I think amongst the general public, trust between artist and consumer will be permanently broken the more and more this happens.

There's something funny about the Warner CEO saying we need to see the optimism in AI. Like yeah, we understood there is an upside for you to make money. That was never in question.

Prince would NEVER want anything released that he did not have full creative control over. You are so right, this is almost how I believe AI will insidiously permeate our world, beginning with a gracious looking gesture than then opens a can of worms. There is no chance this is going to stay "super organic and nice." Love you, Grady and Love Randy Travis always

Who's to say this isn't AI-generated Grady already? The lighting is a little too perfect 🤔

I think it’s incredible that Randy Travis has new music out. As a Randy Travis fan since his first release, I’m thrilled to hear his vocals again. Which they are, even taken digitally. Music genres use all types of technology to change or alter their music. This is his voice, just prerecorded and altered. It brought tears to my eyes listening the first time. Randy Travis has a beautiful voice, I’m glad to hear him again.

I am excited for Randy Travis! He was right there in the recording studio when this new music was being recorded. On his Facebook right now Randy has a post where he is thanking us the fans. They used 42 vocal tracks of his. I have been his fan since 1986. Randy deserves to be able to put out new music. We need to support Randy Travis.

A technology by itself isn't evil or good. How a technology is used determines whether or not it is good or bad. AI is here, and it's not going away. We must create laws, regulations, and rules for its use in the same way we do for other technologies that have the potential to have undesirable impacts when misused. I'm overjoyed that Randy has found a way to now experience happiness again through his new AI assisted music. He is involved in its production, and he decides whether or not it is acceptable for release. Only an artist and his or her family when the artist is no longer alive should have the authority to use AI to replicate an artist's voice. An artist should also have the ability through his last Will & Testament to not allow his or her voice to be used by AI for developing songs after he or she is no longer alive.

I was listening to the radio this morning where we talked about it. He said he really wanted to capture the heart and soul of his voice. And he hopes to come back soon actually singing. In my opinion he’s doing it exactly right. The problem I have with the whole AI thing is that you can have an artist say songs aren’t AI when they actually are.

I kinda thought that it was AI I can’t stand how AI is taking over the music industry

Yes me too, I don’t know how to feel about it. Randy Travis is a legend but I don’t know how to feel knowing it’s ai. Keep it up man. Have a good day!

he didnt really sing it though, someone else sang it and they filtered randys voice over it, SO yea this is gonna open up pandoras box, its all computers and not real

Randy's there, but just can't make magic like he used to. But with a little help, he can pervey his thoughts. Kinda like a studio tape vs release that's alot more polished. Its Randy's O.K. that made this a certified song he approves of, how he'd do it, did it and still kinda doing it.

I think people are taking this all the wrong way. The music is real human musicians. The lyrics are real human writers. The voice model was made using 40+ voice masters by Randy. Randy was along every step of the way. Engineering was used to mix and master the song. Randy is making this choice and I believe that the tears of joy he and his family cried hearing the song speaks for itself. I think that as far as use-cases go, this is the best possible way to do it. I would never want this used after his passing to keep making money on his name, but I don't see this happening. As for your second point, Blue Oyster Cult are doing that. Their new album is all tracks that were either uncovered demos, damaged live recordings, etc etc that were remastered using AI to remove crowd noise, recording damage, etc, then remixed with the band performing new parts. "Don't Come Running To Me" features the final performance of Alan Lanier, whose family was able to hear a part he recorded decades ago remastered and usable in a studio track.

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I appreciate your comparisons using "on one hand" and "on the other hand" - I couldn't help but singing along to the Randy tune in my head

Thanks for putting what I'm feeling into words. My immediate thought when I heard was awesome for Randy. But then I almost instantly got this feeling in the pit of my stomach that it's not going to be long (if it's not already happening) until companies are going to take vocals an artist has recorded and do the same thing for a whole album without consent.

8:19 - 8:32 that song that your friend made for your birthday sounded awesome!

I think, in this situation - AI is being used in the right way. The artist is alive and involved in the process. And they are being public about it. I love the song.

I really liked your analogy comparing Randy’s AI generated voice to a prosthetic limb, I think that’s absolutely right. Though I do wonder what AI could mean for future generations of musical artists, will they have the opportunities to break through like the greats did, or will they be forever overshadowed by “new” AI-generated releases from past major artists…?

I'm not a fan of the AI stuff at all. I think it's a can of worms we shouldn't open.

For me, what sets guys like Randy Travis apart from other artists is their natural ability to sing and deliver a heartfelt performance. While the AI is convincing, at the end of the day it’s not Randy. That said, it warms my heart that he’s able to make new music in any capacity.

I lived and worked in Nashville in the early 2000s, and I am forever thankful, because we were still in a time period where people had to actually be able to sing and write. it's not that there was no vocal tuning going on, but it was so subtle, and used as a tool to save some time and the artist's voice. now when I hear "country" on the radio, the tuning is so hard lined that the vocal could have easily been done in one take. This carries over to the Quality, or lack there of, and the live performance, where artists lip sync these days and it is accepted. I tried out a couple of these AI writing apps, and I am convinced it is riding most of this garbage that appears on the radio. I would be further more convinced that it is creating the melodies; if anyone don't believe me, just download one, and for the prompt, put in dirt road, jacked up truck, girl, drinking whiskey at a barn, bonfire, and it will generate whimsical lyrics that sounds like what you hear on the top 40. I love Randy Travis, and I'm glad that he was able to do this, but what is to keep me from doing a duet album with clones of every artist I have ever admired? yes, maybe there are some states where I actually couldn't use the name of The Voice I cloned, but if I don't give credit to anyone, is it still illegal? how can you sue me for a voice on a record, when said Voice really doesn't exist? It's only the human perception that this imitation is that voice. AI abilities to strip each track from a song have been around forever, and I have even used it as a practice tool. I can strip vocals, spoken word from interviews, and compile a composite of a persons voice, that will be a dead ringer, even though I have never actually done it. I know I can, because of my ear in music, performance, and abilities as an audio engineer. it can generate the album cover, and then a music video. it seems like we are living in an updated version of the movie Pure Country. furthermore, I have worked as a studio musician for several record labels, and had albums on a two different labels, and contractually, there are many people dead or alive, who won't have a choice in the matter if the label wants to put a likeness of them on anything they see fit. perhaps the only difference between one of us and these labels is, the label could actually use the name and appearance without ramification. in the end, it will all be artistic hijacking, and we are all used to that, but this will be on a whole new level.

I'm a big fan of Randy Travis and really happy to hear a piece of him again on radio. I like the fact that it gives him the ability to make his music his instead of just writing the song and finding someone else to sing it for him. I do agree that this is a very dangerous technology and has to be heavily regulated otherwise it could kill the entire music industry as a whole because the music industry is a showcase of talented artists.

I've heard new versions of songs "sung" by passed on artists like Johnny Cash with new words added to old melodies. And you couldn't tell it was AI if you didn't know

Nah the Jurassic park reference was spot on

My local radio station played the song last week when it came out and at the time the DJ said he thought it was an old song from the vault. I listened to it and thought "it should have stayed in the vault, it has no soul". Now I know why I felt that way. Not a fan of the idea of AI songs, it feels like a Pandora's Box of problems.

Randy Travis has one of the most iconic voices in country music. 3 seconds of his voice and I’m transported back to my childhood. I hate everything about this. I don’t want new music from Randy Travis for the same reason I don’t wanna hear a new guitar solo from EVH.

2030: Taylor Swift releases 250 albums in 1 day. yikes We could be living in the final decade of authenticity

I think AI needs to be examined case-by-case. Randy being on board creating a new song with AI is probably the only way he can still “create” in an art form he loves and it feels so wholesome and joyful and I love that for him. On the flip side, an author landed in hot water for suspected AI use on a book they were perfectly capable of writing themselves, they’ve just gotten too big for their britches, and fans were upset by what they viewed to be a blatant cash grab. Stuff like that is where AI use gets icky.

It will make it even harder to make it in the industry as a singer. You will have to compete against voices like Elvis and Johnny Cash.

You can tell Randy is all over this song! We neee more Randy!

I think the song sounds great, but I'm also near-certain the reason this was all done in such a scrupulously ethical way is to boost PR for this technology being used in music. In reality, this is an edge case, and this technology is absolutely going to be spun in increasingly uncomfortable directions within the year. Also, unrelated, but listen to Holler Choir.

I guess the thing that makes something like a Hatsune Miku or a Gorillaz more palatable is that behind the animation is an actual human somewhere. Vocaloids were samples of actual human singers. They weren't generated. They were actual recordings. And Gorillaz is Damon Albarn. Idk this just feels... uncanney valley.

I think this is when AI is used right. Randy Travis was involved in the whole process. This is HIS voice approved by himself and it is a beautiful song

Why is this such a Black Mirror episode… I swear everything from that show comes true. Such a bleak reality

Thanks for not bashing Randy but I’m sure he’s just happy and excited to hear his own voice in a new song. Prolly like a kid on Christmas. Music means the world to him and he approves of this musics message and that’s what matters to me 💯🙏🏻🙏🏻I do agree with what your saying and I don’t listen to non -artist approved AI songs tho either 💯💯💯💯

He can express his feelings again and sing his heart out.

I’m all for Randy being able to do this but I don’t think anything Ai generated should be regarded in awards or chart against a real person singing.

the way it's getting used by Randy and co. here is much closer to the machine learning that artists use to develop certain digital brushes, which greatly eases massive workload/makes it possible, or even to the development of a vocal synthesizer like Vocaloid (Hatsune Miku and such, which you allude to in the vid). at the -artist- level, this is good! like with everything, it's when it gets in the hands of -execs and suits and investors- that the tech developments become worrisome. i shudder to think that someone sees this as a way to cynically milk even more from Juice WRLD's posthumous writing than many folks did (and still do! and he's been gone for almost 5 years now!!)

This AI stuff is evolving by the minute. I've been working on this year long project for work, and we've been working to integrate AI into it, and by the time we found our solution, AI evolved enough to require another look and, ultimately a different solution. As for Randy's song ... and the use of AI in this regard. If an artist is alive and can't create (like Randy), and they can give their blessing, I'm all for it. We saw the CBS bit about it Sunday morning and spent the day outdoors, listening to Randy's catalog and reminding ourselves how amazing he is. We probably would just wait til he shows up on a classic country playlist otherwise. If the artist isn't around anymore? That's where it gets muddy for me. I don't want to hear "new" Johnny Cash songs created by AI. No matter what, AI is going to change things, whether we like it or not.

I honestly don’t know how to feel because he hasn’t been able to sing as he once could because of the stroke making it physically impossible for him to perform but he’s able to make decisions for himself as he’s aware and alive. This sets a precedent for estates to approve songs on behalf of the talent they rep… I think if someone isn’t alive to consent to something being made with their branding it shouldn’t be allowed, but that happens all the time. For example, having a hologram of Whitney Houston perform is so dystopian to me but she was alive when that tech was first being used at festivals so it’s possible she could have discussed this with her management. As for whether she did, the public only knows as much as they are willing to share. I also think that this will make it even harder for new talent to emerge because they’ll be competing with the greats again and that is definitely strange to think about. If a single by an AI mimicking Elvis releases would other new releases be able to outperform that? Also, how would tours happen with AI music without performers because I’m not paying to watch a hologram.

Make no mistake about it, that's Randy's voice. Technology was used to create a vocal prosthetic. We are happy to see amputees use technology to function, so why not Randy? If anyone's earned the right to do it, it's him.

If Randy didn't have a part of it I'd be against it, but he did and from the interview he gets lots of joy out of it. Out of having his voice out there doing something he loves that was robbed of him by the stroke.

on the one hand . . . I see what you did there . . . but on the other hand . . . there’s a wedding band

Definitely think this is slippery slope. People already using AI in nefarious ways.

i think a good president of artist being involved and giving their blessing and collaborating is important, not just people using this to duplicate the voice of someone passed or exploited

Am writing a piece about this, focusing on Steve Marriott (Small Faces, Humble Pie) and while the widow favors AI recordings, while Marriott's children are against the idea. This is going to be a BIG issue going forward.

If Randy Travis wants to AI a Randy Travis song, I'm ok with that. But the line will get blurry and this technology will be abused.

Between AI and deep fake technology, i can unequivocally state we'll all be regretting it later. You can't just say AI is good for this or that in certain circumstances and not expect it to be highly abused like it already has. So much for real talent, won't need it now we have AI to do it and no one gets paid except for the ones who releases song with AI. Can't drag anyone to court over copyright violations on a song that generated by AI vocals unless it's a lyrics violation that can be proven. As far as the voice, it's no ones except for AI. Ai will be severely abused, make no mistake about it.

Honestly since I’ve been exposed to James Dupre since he was recording covers in his bedroom on RU-vid. I could obviously hear James intonation in the vocals still even with the overlay of Randy’s voice. But it sounds very close to an original song. Perhaps only those like me would even notice that, and that shows how AI is going down the rabbit hole I’m sure will make people uneasy.

Proper use of AI. It's touching that Randy can continue to make music.

This is a Randy song. Yes, James is involved in the singing, but all he does is provide the rhythm of the vocals for the song so that the AI has a pattern to follow. He is also directed in doing this by Randy. If Randy writes a song, tells James how he wants it to be sung, down to each individual word, vocal inflections, pitch, raise pitch on this word, dip down at the end of that line, belt that, head voice there etc, and the voice is taken from Randy's own voice then effectively, it's not really different from him singing it himself. That's exactly what he would do if he were singing it himself. The only difference is that he doesn't have to use his vocal chords because the technology can take the sound he made years ago and do that part for him. For all intents and purposes, this song is his song and no different than if he were to sing it himself, he just did it in a way most people don't.

Are we just gunna skip past the fact Grady just made a ‘on one hand… but on the other hand’ reference and didn’t even acknowledge it?

As a mountain biker, I equate this to the use of electric mountain bikes. If using AI is what makes you able to sing, by all means, go for it! But if you're perfectly capable of singing, back off. Older people who ride electric mountain bikes, I'm okay with, because it keeps them on the trail, but if you're 25 and in great shape, don't. As for using AI to bring back artists who have died, I don't like that. Dead people can't ride bikes, electric or not, dead people can't sing.

My first initial thought was I've been blown away that the Randy Travis has bounced back from a massive stroke. And he went through soo much hardship and came back with an heart touching song that i couldn't believe 🙏. But not knowing it was all AI, I already felt skeptical. But 🙏 for Randy Travis

AI needed someone to help us accept the future. It found Randy. Randy was perfect. Wow... This is proof AI knows what it is doing. Welcome back Randy. Welcome AI.

it was done with his blessing and input. It used a tool to aid him in singing, just like we use tools to help someone to walk. As long as it is done up front and honest I dont see anything wrong with it.

It’s a beautiful song. I wish Randy was able to do it with his own voice, it would have been one of his best

First it was the Beatles using AI to help create and isolate George Harrison (22 years after his death) and John Lennon’s (43 years after his death) voices to be combined with Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney to bring us the first Beatles AI song ever and now we have AI helping us hear Randy Travis‘s beautiful singing voice and a great song again. AI is going to do some tremendous things when it comes to bringing, the voices back of great singers that have had tragic accidents happen to them cutting their careers short. This is just amazing to hear. First, The Beatles used AI to a final finishing song to the band, closing the chapter of the greatest band in history and now Randy Travis gets his voice back after 10 years, who knows what’s going to be next. Absolutely love this technology.

It could be a slippery slope, however Randy is cognitive and on board to this. It is pretty amazing to use this technology to allow him to sing again.

I’m not gonna lie your birthday song shocked me. The way the chorus hit and the vocals went wide and stacked and then came back to one centered blew my mind - if the entire song was generated with one push of a button that’s freaking NUTS

People will always respond to authenticity. I think the responsible thing to do is to be obligated to inform the listener that it’s AI and not a real person

Randy deserves to live his dream the best he can. Nobody should bash him in any way

I am so freaking glad for Randy and his team to be working with this. I think Having the explicit permission of the performer themselves needs to be there. Your friend is amazing for getting that amazing birthday song to you!

the biggest problem i have with it, is that they didnt come out front and say what it was. They got the first day streams and then came out with it.

Other mainstream country artists have already been releasing AI music. They just haven’t admitted it yet

I can almost hear it now, " Hello, I'M Johnny Cash AI" If you're not performing Live How will they know it's not really You! Don't let the real Music Die!

The voice IS his voice because they used recordings of old songs to sample from.

Wasn’t there an entire Black Mirror episode about this?

It's just the beginning. Of course we are reluctant. In 100 years this will be a relic of technology, and there will be lots of avenues to explore

Hmmm, after watching your take on this Grady, Im on the fence now too. I seen CoJo, Clay Walker, and Josh Turners reactions to it and I was like “wow! If popular/legendary artists like those guys were damn near in tears hearing this, it’s gotta be good”. And so I was looking forward to it. Now, however, as much as I love Randy Travis and I’m not trying to take anything away from him, he’s an absolute miracle for having survived his stroke. And it’s amazing he’s made the progress in recovery that he’s made. Buuuuuut, I feel like people are forgetting all about movies like The Matrix, I, Robot, Surrogates, Terminator, etc. I’m sure that the people that made the machines in those movies had really good intentions, but even so….😟

Let Randy Travis have his music

I am all for it if the artist themselves are apart of the process and Randy’s case with being not be able sing and giving them there voices back. But I do not want artists who are no longer with us use ai

I’d be down with a “new” album from “Waylon Jennings” …

In the case of Randy I’m all for it because he’s part of the process and clearly wanted this done. But for artists that have passed etc I just feel weird about that

Conflicted, definitely. Perhaps if I were in RT's shoes, I would be elated at this opportunity. But, because it's not a real-time performance captured by recording technology, I can't and won't give it my blessing. As we tamper with AI, fast forward a 100 years, and recording arts by real people will be a cottage industry that few will make a living at. If we as a society embrace this artificial entertainment with votes of eyes, ears and dollars, then we'll get what we deserve. What's next, live performances enhanced by AI, and the stage performer isn't even singing, but has a manipulated sound that takes the best of a Toby Keith and blends it with George Strait? What a strange road to take.

No disrespect to Randy; to see what he's been through and see him keep pushing on is amazing. But this is the reason Zach Bryan is such a megastar: no AI, no Autotune, no BS. If AI tried to copy Zach Bryan the computer would eat itself for brunch and go up in a cloud of smoke.

Damn, Bill Lee actually doing something uncontroversially good? I did not have that on my bingo card for the year.

I feel similar about this as I do about using neurolink to help people that are quadriplegic. Like, I’m glad that it helps them, and there’s a lot of potential good that can come from these tools, but also, I don’t know that I trust the biggest companies in the industries involved in these breakthroughs to keep the influence and use of these tools benign.

Rolling Stone reported James Dupré only found out about the track using his vocal *after* it was completed. I'm guessing the demo had been work for hire, so Warner has no obligation to obtain consent or pay royalties, despite this being recorded before AI vocals were a thing.

New music from a dead artist is controversial as that person did not and can not give their consent to do so. Randy is alive and agreed to this. This is the type of things AI should be used for. To give a person their voice back. An all new AI artist - if you can find enough "fans" to support that sort of thing, the record producers would crank them out all day long.

I think things created with AI should be label as such. Give the consumer the choice.

The greatest country voice in history is BACK!!... we all know if he could he would play this live, and it would sound exactly like this... AI finally did something right!!... unlike other PC auto tune phonies!!.... (Taylor Swiftless & Bouncy for example)... noone would criticize his wheelchair because he cant walk... Well done Team Randy, Welcome back Hoss... Now get making more while you can still approve releases...

Disable people should have a right to create art. All parties consented. There is no can of worms here

I think Randy earned the right, and people fear what they don’t understand. AI people fear cause they think it’s all evil. This proves it does not, and I’m so happy for him.

As someone also into Vocaloid music, which you referenced near the end of the video, I think this is exactly like that. A voice provider intentionally creates a thing which is used with their consent to create vocals in a song. In this case, unlike in Vocaloid, the voice provider even takes part directly in the creation of the song (with Vocaloid, the voice is put together as a product that's released to the public and anyone who buys the product can create any song). To be clear, Vocaloid concerts don't consist of songs "by Hatsune Miku" in the sense that she wrote the songs; the concert organizers ask the most popular independent songwriters for permission to play their songs, and these "song producers," as they're called in the Vocaloid space, are credited as the main artist behind their respective songs, even if Hatsune Miku's name tends to be remembered more in the public's conception. But this case with Randy Travis may be a slippery slope, which is why it's good to talk about it. Because yes, at this point a singer might be able to make songs while incapacitated - but even more, even a non-incapacitated singer might just push forward simply making a higher volume of songs because they can distribute the work among people instead of needing to physically be there to record each one, which really feels like we're losing something special about it at that point. And indeed, with the technology existing there's a thin line between consenting usage and nonconsenting usage. As you say, this includes deceased people - which has happened already! Chinese pop star Teresa Teng from the 70s (probably the single biggest name from that era) was recreated with AI a couple years ago, which... yeah, is extremely uncomfortable as a concept.

I ❤ this song! Happy to see that others are also receptive to this new technology, especially since Randy is unable to sing, and has approved the process of creating this single.

If it was done without Randy's endorsement I'd agree that it's dubious. But it was done with his involvement. I think it's the positive side to AI.

There is no strong enough case for this to be accepted that won't lead to AI being used in this capacity again.

The fact that some people would rather have Randy never able to put out music again because "AI bAd" just boggles me.