At the signing of a state bill protecting musicians’ rights against AI impersonation, country music star Luke Bryan greets Gov. Bill Lee on March 21 in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mark Humphrey/AP.
In (3/22) Friday’s NPR/Wyoming Public Media, Rebecca Rosman reports, “Tennessee made history on Thursday, becoming the first U.S. state to sign off on legislation to protect musicians from unauthorized artificial intelligence impersonation. ‘Tennessee is the music capital of the world, & we’re leading the nation with historic protections for TN artists & songwriters against emerging AI technology,’ Gov. Bill Lee announced on social media. The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, or ELVIS Act, is an updated version of the state’s old right of publicity law. While the old law protected an artist’s name, photograph or likeness, the new legislation includes AI-specific protections. Once the law takes effect on July 1, people will be prohibited from using AI to mimic an artist’s voice without permission…. Tennessee’s music industry supports more than 61,000 jobs and hosts more than 4,500 music venues, according to the governor’s office…. Lawmakers have been struggling to keep up with the rapid acceleration of AI technology … In the music industry, songwriters, singers, and producers have expressed concerns about the current lack of protections over things like copyrights and intellectual property…. While largely viewed as a threat, producers have also been using the technology to make some impressive breakthroughs.”
