On Thursday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the United States' first AI music law: the ELVIS Act, which amends pre-existing legislation to protect artists' voices as property rights.
Signed in a ceremony at a honky tonk in Nashville's famous Broadway district, the ELVIS Act was supported by The Human Artistry Campaign and has several prominent supporters, including country stars Luke Bryan and Chris Janson (who were at the signing), Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., a bipartisan coalition of Tennessee lawmakers and more.
By amending the state's pre-existing Protection of Personal Rights Act of 1984, the law, formally titled Image, Voice and Image Safety Guarantee Act of 2024, essentially turns an individual's voice into a property right , such as your name, photograph and likeness. Those who knowingly use an individual's voice “for the purposes of advertising products, merchandise, goods or services, or for the purposes of fundraising, soliciting donations, purchasing products, merchandise, goods or services” are subject to a civil action.
He ELVIS Act language It also clarifies situations in which unauthorized use of an individual's voice is, in fact, permitted, including references “in connection with any news, public matter or sports broadcast,” as well as cases of “comments, criticisms, erudition, satire”. or parody.”
Additionally, “fleeting or incidental” use of a voice is permitted, as are representations “of the individual as himself in an audiovisual work,” unless the audiovisual work creates “the false impression that the work is a recording.” authentic in which the individual participated.”
In a statement, Mason, who has notably commented on AI music creation in the past, said: “The Recording Academy welcomes the passage of the ELVIS Act as a groundbreaking achievement in the effort to protect human creators in the age of AI. … Today is just the beginning: as AI continues to develop, the Recording Academy and our members will continue to support meaningful legislation across the country that elevates musicians and human creativity.”
For their part, Tennesseans present at Thursday's signing were very proud of the achievement. “From Beale Street to Broadway, Bristol and beyond, Tennessee is known for our rich artistic heritage that tells the story of our great state,” said Governor Lee, before thanking the state's General Assembly for “creating legal protections for our best.” artists and composers of the class.” In his remarks, Bryan called the law “an amazing precedent to set” and thanked the state for protecting “what [artists] work so hard for.”
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