Vocaloid "Singing Synthesis Software"

VOCALOID allows song writers to generate superb authentic-sounding singing on their PCs by simply inputting the words and notes of their compositions. The software synthesizes the sound from “vocal libraries” of recordings of actual singers, such as those being developed by Zero-G, and retains the vocal qualities of the original singing voices to reproduce real-sounding vocals. VOCALOID also features simple commands enabling users to add expressive effects, and as it runs on Windows-based PCs, amateur enthusiasts as well as professionals can now enjoy creating music with great-sounding vocals. —Vocaloid “Singing Synthesis Software” (Press Release)

This could be the ultimate weapon against Big Music. Music fans often claim they don’t listen to the words, they just like entering into the music. Will this do for Big Music what blogging is doing for Big Print? Probably not — this software is not free, and it looks like it takes a lot of effort and at least a smattering of musical knowledge (you have to be able to input the notes and probably tweak the script so that the synthetic singer sounds emotionally involved in the music). But it will put creative power into the hands of a wider range of people, just as digital video cameras and printing presses did their share in the democratization of media.