Like I said, I'm clearly pretty late in catching on here. But in regards to autotune and folk genre, this commentator has some interesting thoughts: Forget Autotune - the Indie Folk Movement

"A folk revival within the indie-rock music space has been in the works for almost a decade now. Bands like My Morning Jacket and Bright Eyes have incorporated many of the sounds and sensibilities of traditional American folk music into their songs. More recently, though, indie-folk is getting more attention from the media and thus is starting to make waves in charts.
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Why have music reviewers and bloggers alike taken such an interest in these bands? I believe the interest in "indie-folk" is a response to two different discourses taking place in society, one relating to music and art specifically, the other relating to mass culture in general.
The first discourse that seems to be taking place involves the authenticity of new music. In an era where musicians are trading in instruments for pro-tools software and pop artists are auto-tuning every note they sing, many seem to be wondering whether new music can even be looked at as art. This debate hit the mainstream this summer when Jay-Z released the song "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." I believe this particular movement has played a role in the transition of indie-folk into the mainstream. In a time when people are rejecting music because it is inauthentic, it makes sense that music that mainly features just acoustic guitar and natural vocal talents would be popular."