Fender CEO Edward ‘Bud’ Cole has caused a stir online with recent comments on AI.
During an interview with T3 published in May this year, Cole compared tribute bands to artificial intelligence, dubbing cover music as “a sort of analog AI”.
His comments came as part of a longer discussion of AI’s place in the world, in which Cole voiced his support for embracing modern tech in the guitar scene.
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“When the Telecaster came out, it was polarising,” he began. “There were people that loved it and adapted, and some people that thought it looked like a rope from a rowboat, or it looked like a plank.
“I think AI has existed in music as long as there’s been recorded music. I actually believe cover music has been sort of analog AI for a long time.”
As he explains, Cole sees AI as a stepping stone of sorts that is on the brink of “freeing up people to move beyond the same old covers”.
His thoughts haven’t gone down well with the guitar community, attracting scrutiny from key figures in the online scene.
Rhett Shull, who’s had his own personal tangle with AI in the past, has spoken out against Cole. So too has JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott, who’s also highlighted the dangers of AI in the guitar industry. Samuraiguitarist addressed it in a YouTube video.
The negative side to AI have been well-publicized. Not only is it already stripping away creativity and jobs from the arts, it’s also being used by bad actors in the guitar scene for more nefarious purposes.
But Cole’s comments comparing cover music specifically with the tech are what guitarists have taken issue with.
As some players have pointed out, they are overly reductive of cover bands in general, ignoring the craft required to learn the music and instrument, and the human aspect that comes with playing in a real band.
Most players start their gigging life playing in cover bands. It teaches them irreplaceable skills that can only be learned through the cover music experience.
Working with other musicians, learning your favorite songs, rehearsal etiquette, getting comfortable on stage, experimenting with tones, broadening your stylistic horizons… heck, even soft people skills. All core experiences that bear no similarities to AI. To boil cover music down to “analog AI” is clumsy at best.
But as Cole himself would point out, there are instances where AI can be used positively for guitar purposes. For instance, Positive Grid’s Spark AI helps with developing tones, and there are AI tuition tools. That’s something he alludes to in his T3 interview, perhaps with a view to developing the Fender Play learning platform.
“I think we have to be careful, but we should look at how this technology can help us,” says Cole. ”I believe that AI is actually going to help create a whole new world of guitar players that use it. To help connect with other musicians, to be more productive. And across the chasm into becoming a student of songwriting to a master of songwriting. That’s the hope anyway.”
Regardless, the wording of Cole’s comments concerning cover music specifically hasn’t escaped criticism from the guitar community.
It’s the latest controversy that Cole has found himself embroiled in, after Fender came under fire for its high-profile legal campaign to protect the Stratocaster body shape. In a recent development, Fender sued Thomann for copyright infringement.
