‘You can hear me now or pay me later’ Music exec tells graduates booing AI to ‘deal with it’

TechnologyMusic
19 May 2026 • 10:38 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

‘You can hear me now or pay me later’ Music exec tells graduates booing AI to ‘deal with it’

A music executive was met with boos when he spoke about the rise of AI to a graduating class.

Speaking to Middle Tennessee State University Scott student, Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, said that “AI is rewriting production as we sit here”, a comment which was met with jeers.

Reacting to the unenthusiatic reception, Mr Borchetta, who first discovered and signed Taylor Swift in 2005, said: “I know, deal with it.”

“Like I said, it’s a tool. You can hear me now or pay me later.”