Tennessee’s governor has approved legislation aimed at protecting music artists from exploitation and copying by artificial intelligence.
Governor Bill Lee signed the Portrait, Voice, and Image Security Act (ELVIS) Thursday at a honky-tonk bar in Nashville.
“There’s certainly a lot of positive things about how AI works,” Lee said during the event. “It also has the potential to destroy this industry if it falls into the wrong hands.”
“It can take away from individuals, artists whose unique God-given gifts change lives,” the governor added. “They can steal those gifts, impersonate those gifts, and then create counterfeit works that take away the artist’s intellectual property.”
Country stars praise state’s landmark bill that protects musicians
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee spoke Thursday during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect the Voice and Likeness of AI Events held at Robert’s Western World in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images, Human Artistry Campaign)
The ELVIS Act is named after the iconic singer Elvis Presley, whose image and likeness were widely exploited after his death.
Lee signed autographs with artists from Robert’s Western World Honky Tonk, including major country stars Luke Bryan and Chris Janson.
College student vacates Luke Bryan’s bar in Nashville, says he drank one alcoholic drink and two glasses of water before disappearing
From left: Luke Bryan, Rep. William Lamberth, Sen. Jack Johnson, Chris Janson, and Governor Bill Lee ELVIS protects voice and likeness in the age of AI at Robert’s Western World in Nashville, Tennessee. Attended the signing of the law. on Thursday. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images, Human Artistry Campaign)
Music artists from various genres have expressed concern about the growing popularity of artificial intelligence and its ability to synthesize songs using real singers’ voices.
Artificial intelligence programs have also been able to create entire songs in the style of music artists through analysis of existing bodies of work, but the quality of the results varies widely.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
From left: Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Representative William Lamberth, Luke Bryan, Governor Bill Lee, Mitch Glazier, and Chris Janson attend the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice and Likeness. , Sen. Jack Johnson Thursday at Age of AI at Robert’s Western World in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images, Human Artistry Campaign)
Nashville is one of the nation’s most popular cities for aspiring and established music artists. It is a center of the music industry, with live performance venues and many recording studios.
