Laws are intended to safeguard professionals in the music business from unauthorised use of their intellectual property.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee approved legislation on Thursday that aims to shield musicians, composers, and other music industry workers from the possible risks posed by artificial intelligence.
With this action, Tennessee becomes the first state in the US to implement such laws. Tennessee is well-known for being the cradle of country music and the launching pad for musical superstars. Advocates claim the objective is to guarantee that an artist’s voice cannot be imitated by AI systems without the artist’s permission. On July 1st, the law becomes operative.
Shortly after the measure was signed into law, Lee told reporters, “We employ more people in Tennessee in the music industry than any other state.” It is the intellectual property of artists. They’re gifted. They are special in a way that cannot be attributed to artificial intelligence.
Name, image, and resemblance are regarded as property rights instead of rights of publicity in this state, one of just three. Vocal similarity will now be added to that list in accordance with the recently enacted Ensuring similarity, Voice, and Image Security Act, sometimes known as the “Elvis Act.”
However, it is unclear how successful the law will be in protecting artists’ works from being copied and scraped by AI without their consent. Legislation remains unproven, even with broad backing from the music business and overwhelming approval from the Tennessee statehouse, according to supporters like Lee. This degree of bipartisan consensus is an astonishing outlier in the midst of continuing conflicts between the GOP supermajority and a small number of Democrats.
Many artists in Tennessee argue that they don’t have the luxury of waiting for the ideal answer, citing the dangers of artificial intelligence that they already see in their recording studios and on their smartphones.
Country music superstar Luke Bryan remarked, “I can’t tell it’s not me when stuff comes in on my phone.” “Hopefully, this will slow it down and curb it, because it’s a real deal now.”
Inside a crowded Robert’s Western World, in the heart of Nashville’s Lower Broadway, the Republican governor signed the legislation. Many times, the place is packed with visitors who are excited to hear classic country music.
Giving Elvis Presley’s name to the recently passed law was more than simply a tribute to one of the most famous citizens of the state.
Many claimed that once a star passed away, their name and picture became public domain, which led to a bitter and protracted court struggle over the unapproved use of Presley’s name and appearance after his death in 1977.
The Personal Rights Protection Act, which was approved by the Tennessee legislature in 1984, guaranteed that a person’s personality rights persisted after death and may be inherited by others. The individual rights “constitute property rights and are freely assignable and licensable, and do not expire upon the death of the individual so protected,” according to the written statement.
In the decades that followed, the action has also been commended for safeguarding the names, images, and likenesses of all Tennessee public personalities. Originally, it was primarily considered as essential to Presley’s inheritance protection.
Tennessee will now extend such rights to include vocal likeness.
