Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced this week that he is working with the General Assembly on a bill to protect the rights of Tennessee’s artists as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a more prevalent threat.
“From Beale Street to Broadway, to Bristol and beyond, Tennessee is known for our rich artistic heritage that tells the story of our great state,” Lee said in a press release. “As the technology landscape evolves with artificial intelligence, we’re proud to lead the nation in proposing legal protection for our best-in-class artists and songwriters.”
The ELVIS Act, which stands for Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security, is the legislative solution Lee has proposed.
According to the release, the music industry employs 61,617 Tennesseeans and contributes $5.8 billion to the state’s GDP. Tennessee is home to 4,500 music venues.
Current Tennessee law protects the name, image and likeness rights of Tennessee’s musicians.
But as AI becomes more prevalent, the state is trying to protect those musicians from computer-generated violations of their rights.
“Artists and musicians at all levels are facing exploitation and the theft of their integrity, identity, and humanity,” the release says. “This threatens the future of Tennessee’s creators, the jobs that they support across the state and country, and the bonds between fans and their favorite bands.”
The House and Senate majority leaders have both stated their support for the law.
“While the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is exciting in many ways it also presents new challenges — especially for singers, songwriters and other music professionals. Tennessee is well-known for being home to some of the most talented music artists in the world,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin). “It is crucial our laws protect these artists from AI-generated synthetic media which threatens their unique voices and creative content. I appreciate Governor Lee for proposing this first-of-its-kind legislation to protect the music industry in our state.”
“Tennessee is home to a remarkably diverse music community that is important not only to the culture of our state, but its economy as well. As technology advances, we must ensure the intellectual property of these incredibly talented artists, such as their voice, is fully protected,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland). “I am incredibly proud to carry this legislation that will benefit the performers who make our music industry so successful.”
Nashville Songwriters Association International also stated its support for the new law.
“The emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) resulted in fake recordings that are not authorized by the artist and is wrong, period,” the group said. “The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) applauds Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Senate Leader Jack Johnson and House Leader William Lamberth for introducing legislation that adds the word “voice” to the existing law – making it crystal clear that unauthorized AI-generated fake recordings are subject to legal action in the State of Tennessee. This is an important step in what will be an ongoing challenge to regulate generative AI music creations.”
More than a dozen industry groups have also pledged support for the bill. They include:
- Academy of Country Music, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)
- The Americana Music Association
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
- Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
- Church Music Publishers Association (CMPA)
- Christian Music Trade Association
- Folk Alliance International, Global Music Rights
- Gospel Music Association
- The Living Legends Foundation
- Music Artists Coalition
- Nashville Musicians Association
- National Music Publishers’ Association
- Rhythm & Blues Foundation
- Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
- Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC)
- Songwriters of North America (SONA)
- Tennessee Entertainment Commission
– – –
Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
As a songwriter, I fail to see how this protects the work of songwriters. Songwriters are the foundation that the music industry is built upon. NSAI’s motto is: It All Begins With A Song.
Songwriters are also at the bottom of the food chain and get the smallest portion of any royalty that is paid for a song.
Unless there is something not being mentioned here, this protects the artists and publishers/labels with no added protection for the actual songwriter (unless he/she also happens to be the artist).