I wonder why all of these graduating students who are worried about finding jobs out of college keep booing commencement speakers that champion AI? I just can’t put my finger on it. For their 2026 Spring Commencement ceremony, Middle Tennessee State University had Scott Borchetta – founder, chairman, and CEO of Big Machine Records – give the commencement address. It’s a move that makes a lot of sense, considering that the College of Media and Entertainment at MTSU is named in his honor. What didn’t make a lot of sense was how the CEO of Big Machine Records scared a lot of graduating students with his speech. Like a lot of commencement speeches that have gone viral in 2026, he leaned heavily into AI, and described it as a “delivery tool that everyone has to embrace and understand.” Anytime he mentioned artificial intelligence, he was met with restless murmurs and boos. Especially after he delivered these lines: “We are the agents of change, and the agents of next. This industry will change on you in a heartbeat. It has already changed more in the last 10 years than in the 50 years prior. Streaming rewrote the economics. Social media rewrote the discovery model. AI is rewriting production as we sit here.” Once the booing picked up, Borchetta got weirdly defensive. Obviously, if there was anyone that knows about the advances of AI in the music industry, it’d be him. But the way he presented it to the graduating class didn’t land softly, and the way he responded to the booing didn’t help at all: “I know it. Deal with it. It’s a tool. Like I said, you can hear me now, or you can pay me later. Do something about it. It’s a tool. Make it work for you… the things you learned in your first year here may already be obsolete.” @couriernewsroomCEO of Big Machine Records Scott Borchetta told students to “deal with it” after he was booed for applauding AI during his commencement speech at Middle Tennessee State University. ♬ original sound – Courier Newsroom Sheesh. Nothing like telling a bunch of kids the education they just shelled out a hundred thousand dollars for is obsolete. Inspiring stuff… Why is talking about AI when addressing graduating college students not working out well across the board? Well, it probably has something to do with how the technology has already negatively affected the job market. Many entry level jobs are being replaced with AI as businesses cut costs… so talking about that with young people who just dedicated four years of their life and paid thousands of dollars for a degree (especially in the creative space) might not be the move. You can view Borchetta’s full commencement speech here:   All these CEOs and business people touting the power of AI to college students need to take a lesson from Eric Church’s commencement speech. It’s not about talking down to the graduates… it’s about lifting them up: “When all six are in tune, the chords they make can stop a conversation cold, carry a broken person through the worst night of their life, or make a roomful of strangers feel for three minutes like they’ve known each other forever.  If one is off, the whole chord unravels. Not gradually, politely. The moment you strike it, you know. I believe your life runs on this principle.” The post Big Machine Records CEO, Scott Borchetta, Booed At Commencement Ceremony For Remarks On AI: “Deal With It… It’s A Tool” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.