Charlie Harding, a music journalist and co-host of Switched on Pop, dives into the captivating journey of Auto-Tune. He highlights how this simple plugin transformed the music landscape, becoming a hallmark sound embraced by both artists and fans. The conversation explores Auto-Tune's evolution, its creative possibilities, and the cultural debates surrounding authenticity. Harding also connects this technology to the future of music with AI, pondering the lessons from Auto-Tune's rise amidst ongoing backlash in the industry.

Switched on Pop host Charlie Harding joins The Verge to discuss the RIAA lawsuit against AI music startups. They cover AI music, copyright issues, upcoming tech events like Samsung Unpacked and Google Pixel 9, as well as new gadgets like Motorola Razr phones and Ultimate Ears speakers.

I have this theory that music is usually about five years ahead of the rest of media in terms of its relationship to tech—whether that’s new formats based on new tech, like vinyl to CDs; new business models like streaming; or simply being disrupted by new kinds of artists who use new forms of promotion like TikTok in unexpected ways. I’ve always thought that if you can wrap your head around what’s happening to the music industry, you can pretty much see the future of TV or movies or the news or whatever it is, because the music industry just moves that fast.I was talking about this with my friend Charlie Harding, the co-host of Switched on Pop, and he said that he thinks the upcoming Taylor Swift Eras Tour is itself the end of an era in music — that the age of cheap streaming services is coming to an inevitable conclusion, and that something has to change in order for industry to sustain itself in the future. So, in this episode, Charlie and I walk through a brief history of the music business—which, despite its ever-changing business models, is permanently trying to find something to sell you for $20 whether that’s the music itself, all-access streaming, merch, and even NFTs—using Taylor Swift as a case study. We map her big moves against the business of music over time to try to see if this really is the end of an era. And maybe more importantly, to try and figure out if the music industry can sustain and support artists who are not Taylor Swift, because streaming, all by itself, definitely cannot.Links:Switched on PopCharlie’s first appearance on Decoder: Good 4 who? How music copyright has gone too far - The Verge Why Amazon VP Steve Boom just made the entire music catalog free with Prime - The Verge Spotify launching in the US at 8AM tomorrow, open to all pre-registered users - The VergeMetallica sued Napster 15 years ago today - The VergeTaylor Swift calls Apple Music free trial 'shocking, disappointing' in open letter - The VergeTaylor Swift versus Ticketmaster: the latest on the tour that may break up a giant - The VergeThe DOJ has reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster's owner     How fandom built the internet as we know it, with Kaitlyn Tiffany - The VergeSteve Aoki on the blockchain, the metaverse, and the business of music - The VergeTranscript:https://www.theverge.com/e/23322720Credits:Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.Today’s episode was produced by Hadley Robinson, Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters. Our Sr. Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, things got a little loose in the studio of The Vergecast. Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding joins Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce to make their own version of Drake's AI summer classic. We're not saying a laser bong was involved, but we're not not saying that either.Then deputy editor Alex Heath stops by to tell us about Snaps latest announcements and give us an update on the latest round of layoffs at Meta.Finally, a lightning round with all the big headlines in tech from this week.Further reading: AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google Google employees label AI chatbot Bard ‘worse than useless’ and ‘a pathological liar’: report What’s really going on with ‘Ghostwriter’ and the AI Drake song? Family of F1 legend Michael Schumacher plans legal action over fake AI interview Snapchat releases My AI chatbot to all users for free Google’s big AI push will combine Brain and DeepMind into one team Netflix is shutting down its original DVD business after 25 years Netflix is out of the DVD business because streaming won – now, can Netflix still win? Twitter begins removing blue checkmarks from all legacy users It’s a laser bong SpaceX’s Starship successfully takes off before bursting into flames BuzzFeed News is being shut down Social media is doomed to die Google Fi has a new name and expanded connectivity support for smartwatches Leak: Google will announce the Pixel Fold at I/O and beat Samsung on battery Everything spy movies get right (and wrong) about smart glasses Microsoft is reportedly working on a smaller Surface Pro and Arm-powered Surface Go 4 Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a song about West Virginia, but its message of homecoming has resonance far beyond Appalachia. Songwriter and producer Ian Fitchuk found this out when he was requested to perform Denver’s music at a music festival in Tibet. Fitchuk discovered that Denver has a huge following in East and South East Asia, where Denver toured multiple times from the 70s through the 90s. Denver’s songs first came to the region through the US Armed Forces Network radio as well as a diplomatic performance for China’s leader Deng Xiaoping at the Kennedy Center in 1979. Denver performed alongside the Harlem Globetrotters and the Joffrey ballet, and he left such an impression, the show led to an invitation to be one of the first western musicians to tour China. To better understand Denver’s meaning in the region, Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding speaks with Ian Fitchuk about his performance and interviews journalist Jason Jeung who wrote about “Country Roads” in The Atlantic.Songs Discussed John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads Kacey Musgraves - Oh, What A World The East Is Red John Denver - Rocky Mountain High Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son James Taylor - Carolina in My Mind Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Decoder we are doing something a little different. We're talking with Charlie Harding, co-host of the podcast Switched on Pop a podcast about pop music, about the state of the music industry particularly as it relates to copyright. The conversation is framed around Olivia Rodrigo's debut album Sour and why she keeps handing out songwriting credits months after the album was released. This is kind of a hybrid between an episode of Decoder and an episode of Switched on Pop. We play a lot of music throughout the episode and in case you want to go back and listen to full songs we've made playlists for both Spotify and Apple Music.Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3nuMTt7Apple Music - https://apple.co/3986hUwLinksOlivia Rodrigo Studied All the Right Moves https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/olivia-rodrigo-sour-album-reviewWhy Taylor Swift is rerecording all her old songs https://www.vox.com/culture/22278732/taylor-swift-re-recording-fearless-love-story-master-rights-scooter-braunOlivia Rodrigo Gives Taylor Swift Songwriting Credit on Second ‘Sour’ Song, ‘Deja Vu’ https://variety.com/2021/music/news/olivia-rodrigo-taylor-swift-songwriting-credit-deja-vu-1235015769/Olivia Rodrigo Adds Paramore to Songwriting Credits on ‘Good 4 U’https://variety.com/2021/music/news/olivia-rodrigo-paramore-good-4-u-misery-business-1235048791/‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Suit Against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Ends in $5M Judgment https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/robin-thicke-pharrell-williams-blurred-lines-copyright-suit-final-5-million-dollar-judgment-768508/ Katy Perry Wins Appeal in ‘Dark Horse’ Infringement Case https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/katy-perry-dark-horse-copyright-win-appeal-969009/ Led Zeppelin Wins Long ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/arts/music/stairway-to-heaven-led-zeppelin-lawsuit.html Isley Feels Vindicated In Bolton Case https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78775/isley-feels-vindicated-in-bolton-caseTranscript - https://www.theverge.com/e/22436745The Verge is turning 10 and we're throwing a party in New York City! Purchase tickets here - https://bit.ly/2YRI8iRThis episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone, Alexander Charles Adams, and Andrew Marino. We were edited by Callie Wright. And our music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding and Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos debate whether the concept of the 'song of the summer' is fading. They discuss the history of this idea, the evolution of music trends, and the challenges faced by artists in the current industry landscape.

Switched on Pop's host Charlie Harding discusses the RIAA lawsuit against AI music startups Udio and Suno. They explore legal and creative implications of AI music, Chuck Berry's influence on rock and roll, challenges in replicating authenticity in AI music generation, and the moral dilemmas of AI in the music industry.

Two guests, Charlie Harding and Brittany Spanos, debate the existence of the song of the summer. They explore the evolution of the concept, summer music trends, and changing dynamics in the music industry. The podcast challenges the idea of a definitive 'Song of the Summer' in today's diverse music landscape.

Pop music expert Charlie Harding and historian Tess Megginson discuss the political aspects of Israel's participation in Eurovision, controversies over song lyrics, reactions from Israelis, calls for peace, and the intricate history of political controversies and boycotts at Eurovision.