Two months after introducing their Auto-Tune EFX software plug-in to the market in a limited rollout, Antares has decided to make the technology more globally accessible. In a statement released yesterday, the company acknowledged that their product was "made wildly popular by T-Pain, Kanye West, Cher, and many other artists in virtually every genre of popular music."

The plug-in sells at a retail price of $129, yet has turned yielded significant returns for the likes of T-Pain, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. To date, T-Pain's Thr33 Ringz [click to read] has sold 430,118 units, while West's Auto-Tune opus, 808's & Heartbreak [click to read] is certified platinum with 1,094,859 units sold. Recent Auto-Tune convert, Lil Wayne leads the pack with 2,900,412 copies sold of Tha Carter III [click to read].

When addressing the impact of Hip Hop on his product, Antares' VP of Marketing, Marco Alpert was effusive in his praise of T-Pain and Kanye.

"Both T-Pain and Kanye West have released new albums on which they make extensive use of the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect and brought even more media attention to it," Alpert said. "As a result, we're extremely pleased to expand the distribution of Auto-Tune EFX to our entire dealer base, making it possible for musicians around the world to have an affordable, easy-to-use tool for basic pitch correction and the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect."