Randy Travis regains his voice in new music experiment from Warner AI

For the first time since a 2013 stroke left country singer Randy Travis unable to speak or sing properly, he has released new music. He did not sing, however; instead, the vocals were created with AI software and a replacement singer.

The song, called “Where That Came From,” is exactly the kind of folksy, sentimental song I came to love as a kid, when Travis was at the height of his fame. The producers created it by training an unnamed AI model, starting with 42 of their recordings with vocal isolation. So, under the supervision of Travis and his career-long producer Kyle Lehningcountry singer James DuPre laid down the vocals to be transformed into Travis by AI.

In addition to being on YouTube, the song is on other streaming platforms such as Apple Music It is Spotify.

The result of Warner’s experiment is a smooth melody that captures Travis’s laid-back style, which rarely strayed from his baritone base. It sounds like one of those singles that would have stayed on the charts long enough for me to sway nervously once, after having the courage to ask a girl to dance at a high school social event. I wouldn’t say it’s a excellent Song by Randy Travis, but it’s certainly not the worst — I’d even say I like it.

Dustin Ballard, who runs the various incarnations of the There I Ruined It social media account, creates his AI voice parodies in much the same way as Travis’ team, giving rise to silly mash-ups like AI Elvis Presley singing “Baby Got Back ” or synthetic Johnny Cash singing “Barbie Girl.”

It would be easy to sound the alarm about this music or Ballard’s creations, declaring the death of man-made music as we know it. But I’d argue it does just the opposite, reinforcing what tools like an AI voice clone can do in the right hands. Whether you like the song or not, you have to admit that you can’t achieve something like this through casual suggestions.

Cris Lacy, co-president of Warner Music Nashville, counted CBS Sunday Morning that AI voice cloning sites produce approximations of artists like Travis that don’t “look real, because they aren’t.” She called the record company’s use of AI to clone Travis’ voice “AI for good.”

Right now, Warner can’t do much about AI clones that don’t fall under the “AI Forever” title. But Tennessee Recently passed ELVIS Actwhich takes effect on July 1, would allow record companies to take legal action against those who use software to recreate an artist’s voice without permission.

Travis’ music is a good example of AI being used to make music that actually sounds legitimate. But on the other hand, it could also open a new path for Warner, which owns the rights to vast catalogs of music from famous and deceased artists that are ripe for digital resurrection and, if they want to go there, potential profit. As moving as this story is, it makes me wonder what lessons Warner Music Nashville – and the music industry as a whole – will take away from this song.