SP Balasubrahmanyam's son refuses composers' request to use father's AI voice

Singer-producer SP Charan, in a recent interview, explained why he said no to composers who requested his permission to use father SP Balasubrahmanyam's AI voice in songs. He also shared his opinion on the use of AI in songs.

In Short

• SP Charan opened up about the trend of using AI in music
• He explained why he and his family refused permission to recreate SPB's voice through AI
• SP Balasubrahmanyam died on September 25, 2020

Popular playback singer and producer SP Charan, in a recent interview, explained why he and his family members refused to give permission to recreate late SP Balasubrahmanyam's voice using AI (Artificial Intelligence). Recently, late singer Malaysia Vasudevan's voice was replicated using AI in Vettaiyan's Manasilaayo. SP Charan, in an interview with Vikatan, talked about the trend and how he is against it.

SP Charan said, "For example, Manasilaayo [from Vettaiyan] can be a great song. No hard feelings to anybody. It might be a great song. If SPB was alive today and if he had received that opportunity, he could have also said no to the song after listening to it. A singer has the right to choose whether he wants to sing the song or not. By AI, you are not giving the singer the opportunity. It's not right if all the songs can be sung by SPB or Malaysia Vasudevan because of the love you have for them."

Explaining the challenges of using AI in music, he stated, "Malaysia Vasudevan sung brilliant songs such as Poongaatru Thirumbuma. You cannot replicate those songs. You can replicate the voice, but you cannot replicate the emotion that comes with listening to those songs nowadays."

SP Charan then spoke about why he and his family members do not give permission for composers to replicate his voice through AI. "Many people have approached me asking permission to use my father's voice using AI. I vehemently say no. My family and myself do not want his voice to be heard in any Tom, Dick and Harry's music. Even if it's a responsible music director with a clarity in thoughts, I say no. He is there. Let him be," he added.

SP Balasubrahmanyam died on September 25, 2020, after nearly two months days of hospitalisation.

SPB was a playback singer, composer, television presenter, dubbing artist and a film producer. He worked in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In his career spanning several decades, he sang in a total of 16 languages.