Governor of Tennessee Bill Lee has announced a new bill to further protect the state's “top artists and songwriters” from AI deepfakes.
While the state already has laws to protect Tennesseans from having their name, image and likeness exploited without their consent, this new law, called the Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (ELVIS Act), is an update of existing legislation to specifically address the challenges posed by new AI production tools. The ELVIS Act also introduces protection for voices.
The announcement comes hours after a bipartisan group of US House lawmakers unveiled the No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplications Act of 2023 (No AI FRAUD Act), which aims to create a framework to protect voice and similarity at the federal level and defines First Amendment protections. It is said to be a supplement to the Senate's Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES Act), a bill introduced last October.
An artist's voice, image, or likeness may be covered by “right of publicity” laws that protect them from unauthorized commercial exploitation, but this is a right that varies from state to state. The ELVIS Act aims to give Tennessee-based talent much clearer protections for their voices, particularly at the state level, and the No AI FRAUD Act hopes to create a harmonized foundation of protection in federal level. (If one lives in a state with an even stronger rights-of-publicity law than the AI Fraud Act, this state protection is still viable and may be easier to challenge in court.)
The topic of AI voice cloning has been a controversial topic in the music industry over the past year. In some cases, it presents new creative opportunities—including its use for pitch records, lyric translations, real estate marketing, and fan engagement—but it also poses serious threats. If an artist's voice is cloned by artificial intelligence without their permission or knowledge, it can confuse, offend, mislead or even defraud fans.
“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,” Governor Lee said in a statement. “As the technology landscape evolves with artificial intelligence, we're proud to lead the nation in offering legal protections for our best-in-class artists and songwriters.”
“As AI technology continues to develop, today marks an important step toward pioneering artificial intelligence legislation at the state level,” he added. Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “This bipartisan, bicameral bill will protect Tennessee's creative community from deep-fake AI and voice cloning and serve as a model for other states. The Academy appreciates Governor Lee and the bipartisan members of the Tennessee Legislature for taking the lead — we look forward to working with legislators to move this bill forward.”
“The advent of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to fake recordings that are not authorized by the artist and are wrong,” said a spokesperson for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). “The Nashville Association of Singers International (NSAI) applauds Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Senate Leader Jack Johnson and Member of Parliament William Lamberth to introduce legislation that adds the word “voice” to existing law — making it clear that unauthorized false recordings created by artificial intelligence are subject to legal prosecution in the State of Tennessee. This is an important step in what will be an ongoing challenge to regulate productive AI musical creations.”
“I applaud Governor Lee of Tennessee for this long overdue legislation,” said A2IM President/CEO Dr. Richard James Burgess. “Protecting the rights to a person's name, voice and likeness in the digital age is not only about respecting personal identity but also about preserving the integrity of artistic expression. This act is an important step towards balancing innovation with the legitimate interests of creators and artists. It recognizes the evolving landscape of technology and media, setting a precedent for responsible and ethical use of personal characteristics in the music industry.”
“The Artist Rights Alliance is grateful to Governor Lee, State Senator Jack Johnson and Congressman William Lamberth for launching this effort to prevent the exploitation of an artist's voice and likeness without permission,” he said. Jen Jacobsen, executive director of the Artist Rights Alliance. “Artists and recording artists put themselves into their art. Scraping or copying their work to reproduce or clone a musician's voice or image violates the most fundamental aspects of creative identity and artistic integrity. This important bill will help ensure that creators and their livelihoods are respected and protected in the age of artificial intelligence.”
“AI deepfakes and voice cloning threaten the integrity of all music,” he added David the Israelite, president/CEO of the National Association of Music Publishers. “It makes sense that the state of Tennessee would take the lead on these important policies that will strengthen and protect the entire industry. Music creators face several forces working to devalue their work – technology stealing their voice and likeness should not be one of them.”
“Responsible innovation has expanded the talents of creators—artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, and visual performers, among others—for decades, but the use of genetic artificial intelligence that exploits a person's most personal characteristics without consent is detrimental to humanity and our culture. ” he said Mitch Glazer, President/CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). “We applaud Governor Bill Lee, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, and House Majority Leader William Lamberth for launching this groundbreaking effort to defend the most essential rights of creators from artificially artificial, unauthorized digital copies and clones. The ELVIS Act reaffirms the State of Tennessee's commitment to creators and complements Senator Blackburn's bipartisan work to advance strong legislation that protects the voices and images of creators at the federal level.”
“The evolution of laws to keep pace with technology is essential to protect the creative community,” he said Michael Huppe, president/CEO of SoundExchange. “As we embrace the enormous potential of artificial intelligence, Tennessee is working to ensure that music and those who make it are protected under the law from exploitation without consent, credit and compensation. We applaud the cradle of country music and the birthplace of rock n' roll for pioneering.”
According to a press release from the state of Tennessee, the ELVIS Act is also supported by the Academy of Country Music, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the Americana Music Association, the 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) and Tennessee Entertainment Commission.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/tennessee-ai-bill-defend-artists-voice-impersonation-1235579559/
