A man named Andy Hildebrand is credited with the invention of autotune. An audio engineer, he founded the company Antares in 1997, where he developed the Auto-Tune software. For the first time, it allowed the pitches in music to be manipulated digitally without changing the playback speed. It didn't take long for pop producers to start utilizing the new technology - in 1998, it was used in the hit single Believe by Cher to great effect, even becoming known as the Cher effect for a time.