Fender CEO Bud Cole calls cover music 'analog AI', and the guitar community turns on him
Fender CEO Bud Cole told T3 that cover music has been “a sort of analog AI” for a long time, and the online guitar community spent the first days of August taking the comparison apart. Rhett Shull and JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott both criticised it publicly, and Samuraiguitarist posted a video response titled “Cover music is NOT analog AI”.
Cole, who took over from Andy Mooney earlier this year, made the remark inside a broader argument for the guitar world embracing new technology.
Cover music has been analog AI for a long time.
Why guitarists reject the analog AI comparison
The objection is about consent, and it is a short argument. A player who learns a song spends years on the instrument, buys the gear, and performs the result in front of people. A generative model ingests a catalog without asking the people who recorded it.
Framing those two as versions of the same thing collapses the part the guitar community cares about most. It also reads oddly coming from the company selling the instrument you spend those years on.
Cole’s fuller position is less blunt than the quote suggests. “I think we have to be careful, but we should look at how this technology can help us,” he told Guitar World’s report of the interview, adding he believes AI will help create a new generation of guitar players and move students of songwriting toward mastering it. He also framed AI as something on the brink of “freeing up people to move beyond the same old covers”, which is the phrase doing most of the damage.
Why the Stratocaster lawsuits made the backlash worse
Timing turned a clumsy analogy into a flashpoint. Fender has been running a legal campaign to protect the Stratocaster body shape, sending cease-and-desist letters to smaller builders including LSL Instruments, and it recently sued the retailer Thomann for copyright infringement.
So the company defending its own shape in court has a CEO describing other people’s songs as training data with extra steps. Guitarists noticed.
What this tells working players about gear-brand AI messaging
Gear companies are all writing their AI position right now, and most are writing it badly. D’Addario spent recent weeks denying it used AI in a string demo video, and Fender itself already ships AI features through its Moises and Fender Studio Pro integration.
The useful signal for you is not the quote. It is which brands can explain where their training data came from. When a company can answer that in one sentence, its AI tools are usually safe to build a workflow on. When the answer is an analogy, keep your receipts.
Frequently asked questions
What did Fender CEO Bud Cole say about cover music and AI?
In an interview with T3, Bud Cole described cover music as "a sort of analog AI", arguing that players reproducing existing songs is a long-running version of what generative AI now does. He went on to frame AI as a stepping stone that could free players to move beyond the same old covers.
Why did guitarists criticise Bud Cole's analog AI comparison?
The core objection is consent. A musician learning a song puts in years of practice and performs it in public, while generative models are trained on catalogs without permission or payment. Critics also argued the comparison flattens the craft involved in learning an instrument and playing in a live band.
Which guitar figures publicly criticised Fender's Bud Cole?
Rhett Shull, who previously found AI-generated copies of his own YouTube content, spoke out against Cole. JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott, who has warned about AI in the guitar industry before, also pushed back. Samuraiguitarist posted a video response titled "Cover music is NOT analog AI".
What is Fender's Stratocaster body shape legal campaign?
Fender has been sending cease-and-desist letters to smaller builders over the Stratocaster's body shape, including LSL Instruments, and has sued the retailer Thomann for copyright infringement. The campaign has drawn criticism from parts of the guitar community and forms the backdrop to the reaction against Cole's AI comments.
About the author
Covering AI music tools, industry shifts, and news for music creators and professionals. Twice-weekly newsletter at aimusicpreneur.com.
