Andy Hildebrand is a music engineer best known for inventing auto-tune. He has a Ph.D. in stochastic estimation theory and helped completely change music production.
Hildebrand is also an electrical engineer with a net worth of approximately $23 million. He currently lives in California.
| Name | Harold Andy Hildebrand |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth: | May 12th, 1954 (68 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Coronado, California |
| Height: | 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 meters) |
| Profession: | Musical engineer, electrical engineer |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Children: | 1 |
| Parents: | Mother and father unknown |
| Net Worth Estimate: | $23 million |
Net Worth
It is not clear what Hildebrand’s exact net worth is, although it is estimated to be about $23 million. He made the majority of his earnings from inventing auto-tune.
This invention has become standard practice in the music industry. As auto-tune is copyrighted, Hildebrand will likely get royalties when musicians use pitch-correcting software.
Company
In 1982, Hildebrand co-founded Landmark Graphics Corporation in Houston. He established the company along with Bob Limbaugh, John Mouton, and H. Royce Nelson.
He had financial support from several venture capitalists, including Sevin Rosen and DLJ Financial. The company created software to help the gas and oil industries using seismic survey information.
The company created explosions under the ground, then studied the sound waves that returned to the surface. It was one of the first companies of its kind.
When Hildebrand first founded the company, its main goal was to create workstations alongside the software to interpret data.
However, technological advancements meant that companies did not need special workstations to run the software. So, Landmark Graphics began focusing solely on creating software.
Later, Landmark Graphics created other essential software for the oil and gas industries. This included an OpenWorks database that further helped companies to interpret data.
In 1995, the company expanded to include GeoGraphix. This company specializes in helping smaller systems with the data. In 1996, the Halliburton company bought Landmark Graphics for a valuation of $557 million.
This helped Halliburton increase its US production by 60%, leading to yearly revenue of approximately $1 billion.
In 1999, the Society for Geophysical Exploration of the United States awarded Landmark Graphics’s founders the Cecil Green Enterprise Award. This award recognizes the efforts of individuals in developing the geophysical industry and improving economic prospects.
In 1990, Hildebrand founded Jupiter Systems, an audio engineering company.
The company’s name later changed to Antares Audio Technologies. Hildebrand used his understanding of seismic data and audio creation to develop new software.
By using technology for processing digital signals, Hildebrand created special methods of looping audio. This helped with sampling music digitally and led to Hildebrand further experimenting with audio.
Eventually, Hildebrand created the Multiband Dynamics Tool in 1994. This Tool became one of the first plug-ins for Pro Tools software. He also developed other plugins for Pro-tools, including the Spectral Shaping Tool and Jupiter Voice Processor.
In 1997, Antares released Auto-Tune, the product Hildebrand is most famous for.
Before Hildebrand invented Auto-Tune, it was time-consuming and difficult for music engineers to ‘fix’ songs. It was also expensive. Auto-Tune corrects a singer’s pitch, and Hildebrand intended it to be used discreetly by engineers.
It was not until Cher’s 1998 track “Believe” that the software became known by the general public. Auto-Tune is now used in approximately 90% of all recording productions commercially. However, some people have criticized the software for ‘ruining’ music and allowing singers to cheat. In an interview, Hildebrand responded by saying:
“Cheating in the old days used endless retakes to get a final result. It’s easier now with Auto-Tune. Is the actor who plays Batman “cheating” because he can’t really fly?”
Antares began creating other forms of hardware effects, including the ATR-1.
This helped Hildebrand to create the Antares Microphone Modeler in 1999. This device allowed a single microphone to sound like many different types of microphones.
Because of this innovation, the Modeler won the 2000 TEC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Signal Processing Software. Hildebrand followed this invention with the AMM-1 in 2001, which worked as hardware instead of the Modelor’s software capabilities.
In 1999, Antares bought Cameo International for an unknown amount of money. Broadstream Capital Partners acquired Antares Audio Technologies in 2016 for an unspecified amount. Antares Audio Technologies has annual revenue between $5 million to $20 million.
The company is based in Scotts Valley, California, while one of the important developers, Howard Moon, is based in Sacramento, California.
Although Antares Audio Technologies has a high revenue, the company is still relatively small. Hildebrand considers it a ‘small business’ because it has approximately 25 employees.
Salary
Hildebrand’s exact salary is unknown, though it is estimated that he has an annual salary of approximately $4,000,000. Hildebrand and his wife donated $80,000 worth of technical equipment to the Cruz County Career Technical Education Association. So, it is estimated that his salary is far above that.
However, he does not receive any money directly from Antares Audio Technologies. Instead, Hildebrand is a part-owner and gets his money from royalties. The majority of this comes from Auto-Tune.
Early life
Hildebrand was born in Coronado, California. Hildebrand said that he had a difficult time at school because he found it hard to concentrate in the classroom.
He enjoyed reading but staying in the classroom was a real challenge. Hildebrand has also said he does not think he was a ‘normal child.’
Later, Hildebrand began to focus more at school, which led to his grades improving.
He went from Cs to As by the end of his time in grade school. He also became more passionate about science. Hildebrand attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Systems Science. However, his final grade is unknown.
Several years later, Hildebrand went to the University of Illinois to get a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He graduated in 1972, though his final grade is unknown.
He continued studying at the university until 1976 when he received a doctorate in Electrical Engineering. Hildebrand’s paper for his Ph.D. was titled ‘Nonlinear Filters for Estimating an Insect Population Density.’
Career
After finishing university, Hildebrand started working for the United States Engineering Center. This meant he had to relocate to Washington DC. As part of this job, Hildebrand worked on early GPS technology.
He helped develop inertial navigation systems, in particular the SRN systems. Later, Hildebrand spoke about the challenges of working on these early GPS systems due to the size and weight of the hardware.
In 1976, Hildebrand relocated again to Texas as he began employment with Exxon Production Research.
As part of this oil company, Hildebrand created technology to help geophysical prospecting. He helped interpret data from oil signals and measured sound levels to understand better where oil was beneath the surface of the Earth.
It was during this time that Hildebrand co-founded Landmark Graphics. He founded it in response to one of the oil problems that Exxon was having, which eventually saved the company approximately $500 million in seismic data monitoring technology.
Eventually, Hildebrand tired of working for the oil industry
Hildebrand decided to focus his sights entirely on music and creating songs. In 1989, Hildebrand joined the Shepherd School of Music based in Houston, Texas.
While studying at this school, Hildebrand created Antares Audio Technology. He started creating music at the university using sampling synthesizers.
However, Hildebrand believed that the sample sounds were not of adequate quality. So, Hildebrand decided to create better technology himself.
He used his understanding of geophysical exploration and audio levels to develop software like Auto-Tune. The invention came about after speaking to one of his friend’s wives.
She had jokingly commented on needing a “box that will let [her] sing in tune.” A few months later, Hildebrand remembered the conversation and used the seismic data processing tools from his previous career. This helped to create a method of correcting a singer’s pitch.
Despite not needing to work anymore, due to the royalties from Auto-Tune, Hildebrand still enjoys working on it. In 2015, Hildebrand finished coding an Auto-Tune plugin for guitars.
Career Highlights
- Worked for the United States Engineer Center in Washington
- Developed early GPS systems
- Started working for Exxon in 1976
- Used sound to find oil under Earth’s surface
- Founded Landmark Graphics in 1982
- Founded Jupiter Systems (later Antares Audio Technologies) in 1990
- Created Multiband Dynamics Tool in 1994
- Created Auto-Tune in 1997
Personal Life
Hildebrand is married to Georganna Hildebrand. The pair have a daughter together and live in Felton, California. They also have two dogs and two cats.
Hildebrand was married before but divorced his ex-wife for unknown reasons.
Facts About Andy Hildebrand
Although he worked in the oil industry for much of his life, Hildebrand has always been passionate about music. He played the classical flute from a young age and played professional music by the age of 16. Hildebrand spent some time performing in choirs and musicals. However, Hildebrand does not believe he has an attractive voice, though he can hold a note.
To help fund his time at university, Hildebrand taught flute lessons. He got into the University of Illinois through a musical scholarship, which he received on the merit of his flute abilities.
Antares Audio Technologies once partnered with T-Pain, a notable user of Auto-Tune. However, the rapper later split from the company and attempted to sue them in 2011. T-Pain alleged that the company had “unauthorized use” of T-Pain’s name as part of their advertising content. Eventually, Antares counter-sued T-Pain, and each settled the disagreement externally.
Part of this resolution included a non-disclosure agreement, so the exact details are unknown.
Hildebrand Did Not Patent Auto-Tune in Germany.
This was a pure mistake, but it allowed a company to create its own pitch-correction technology there. Later, Apple bought out this company and used their software for Logic Pro. Hildebrand has said that Antares cannot sue Apple because of how big the tech giant is.
Hildebrand created the algorithms that enabled him to create auto-tune on a custom Mac.
Since its creation, Auto-Tune has been a controversial invention. Hildebrand argues that it is meant to be a tool to help singers. He intended it to be subtle and used “very gently to nudge notes more accurately into tune.”
Hildebrand also believes that this creation is no different from other music inventions, such as how it was broadcast. However, critics like TIME magazine called it one of the ‘50 Worst Inventions.’
The inventor of Auto-Tune, Dr. Andy Hildebrand, is a mathematician. The algorithm he used to make autotune is in fact similar to what he used for mapping the geological subsurface find drilling site for oil. “Believe” by Cher was the 1st famous song using Auto-Tune, in 1998.
— faye⁷🎹🔬💜🍊 (@unfayezed) June 17, 2021
Hildebrand had to write over 300,000 lines of code to create the Auto-Tune plugin for guitars. Hildebrand still works on Auto-Tune and recently released Auto-Tune 8. Some new features include Flex-Tune, which allows singers to keep certain notes off-key.
The majority of clients using Hildebrand’s Auto-Tune software are Pro-Tools users. Auto-Tune is particularly common in pop music, although this is not Hildebrand’s favorite type of music. He has said his favorite style is classical music.
Hildebrand’s first invention for Antares Audio Technologies was called ‘Infinity.’ This software allowed artists to loop multiple music samples at one time on a track.
Cher’s 1998 track ‘Believe’ is credited as bringing Auto-Tune into the public sphere.
However, the singer’s record label was initially hesitant about releasing the track with the edited vocals. Hildebrand himself said he was “shocked” at how the singer used his software to change her voice. He referred to it as “an extreme setting,” and was surprised at how popular Auto-Tune became.
On this day in 1997, engineer Andy Hildebrand released Auto-Tune to the public. Originally designed to correct mild pitch errors in vocal performances, the software was popularized as a more overt creative tool when Cher’s “Believe” topped charts the following year.#HIFI pic.twitter.com/2ptic1BLWW
— HIFI (@wearehifi) September 19, 2021
Hildebrand wants to use his technical skills to help people in their daily lives. He is currently working on improving embedded defibrillators, a kind of pacemaker.
He wants to help the software to detect a person’s heartbeat better. Hildebrand is trying to perfect the algorithm to put inside the defibrillators.
Summary
Andy Hildebrand is a musical engineer who is most famous for being the inventor of Auto-Tune. He has experience in signal engineering and being a geophysical engineer.
Hildebrand created his own companies, Landmarks Graphics and Antares Audio Technologies, giving him a net worth of approximately $23 million. He currently lives in Felton, California.