I think a lot of people are getting upset about the wrong thing. So what if it makes a singer do something he really can't. The same has been true since the first punch in. So these days it is done in one easy step with a box. Before it was done with more complicated manual correction or comping of parts. The result is the same. You hear something the guy can't really sing. Is it really a truer performace if you are hearing the beginnig of a phrase (or word even) from take 20 pasted together with the end of a phrase from take 46, and then having that result copied and pasted to every chorus? Not to me it isn't.
I came to a conclusion a few years ago. This top 40 stuff is not art, is not meant to have any integrity, and should not be treated as such. It is a product cranked out to make money. That is all it ever will be. Furthermore, I am free to totally ignore it. I can listen to Bella Fleck knowing full well that it is the tallent of the musicians I am enjoying. Heck, for the ultimate in unspoiled recordings I can listen to Medeski Martain and Wood's "Tonic" album. That particular album was recorded live with no sound reinforcement. A single sterio mic was put in the room. That's it.(the album sounds great, by the way).
If I do enjoy a top 40 song for whatever reason, I know where the real credit belongs, and this is what does annoy me. Why should Britteny Spears or N-Sync be making all this money and having all this fame? What did they actually do? I bet most of what the masses like about them comes from the skills of somebody else. The producer, recording/mixing engineer, mastering engineer, songwriter, choriographer, video producer, costume designer, personal trainer, plastic surgeon

. Take that away and what do these "artists" have? So why are they getting the credit? All I know is that if you put Britteny Spears in a room with nothing but herself, she could not entertain thousands of people. Put Eric Clapton, Vic Wooten, John Medeski, Tony Rice etc in a room with nothing but thier instruments, and yeah, it's an entertaining event I'd pay to see.
So as I see it, that is the problem, credit not going where it belongs. A box that corrects pitch problems changes nothing. Sorry if this wandered off topic a bit. My rant mode got to me
