T-Pain Tells ‘Biters’ To Pay-Up For Using Auto-Tune

Although the singer/producer didn’t make the Auto-Tune software created by company Antares which starts around $300, he’s asking others to pay him for bringing the sound effect back to the limelight. In an interview with DJ Skee, T-Pain stated that artists such as Ron Browz have used the Auto-Tune effect poorly and also stated in a recent MTV News interview that those that have used it should pay up.

“Sign the papers,” states T-Pain, who worked on Kanye West’s new album “808′s & Heartbreak”. “Diddy actually gave me royalties on this album just for using Auto-Tune. He signed the contract and everything. If I can do that with Diddy, somebody else better be signing something. It’s Diddy. He didn’t have to involve me at all. … I’m writing and producing on his album, and he gave me extra royalties on top of that for using something I just brought back.”

This recent comment from T-Pain has a number of fans and musicians in a frenzy which many have been posting throughout the web that artists such as Prince, the late Roger Troutman, of the soul and funk band Zapp and Parliament-Funkadelic collective, were well known for their use of the vocoder and even pop singer Cher used auto-tune in her 1998 song “Believe” before T-Pain was known. Troutman is also known for singing the chorus to the hip-hop classic, “California Love” song by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre who produced the track.