Tennessee's ELVIS Act: Why it matters in the AI Era

Tennessee has taken a step in addressing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry. Governor Bill Lee announced the introduction of the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act on January 10, 2024, aimed at updating the state's Protection of Personal Rights law to include protections against the misuse of AI in replicating artists' voices. This legislation is particularly significant for artists, who often rely on their unique voice and creative content as a key aspect of their artistic identity.

The TLDR

• Legislation Focus: The ELVIS Act is designed to protect artists' voices from unauthorized AI-generated synthetic media.
• New Protection Realm: Adds "voice" to personal rights protections, targeting AI cloning models and services.
• Impact on Indie Artists: Offers legal protection against exploitation and identity theft in the digital age.

The ELVIS Act is a response to the growing concern over AI technologies that enable the creation of unauthorized fake works, mimicking the voice and style of artists. This move by Tennessee is crucial in safeguarding the integrity and identity of artists at all levels.

• Artistic Integrity: The Act provides a necessary shield for indie artists, ensuring their voice and artistic expression are legally protected against unauthorized AI replications.
• Legal Support: With this legislation, artists have a clearer legal framework to address and prevent the misuse of their work, offering a sense of security in their creative endeavors.
• Broader Impact: Tennessee's initiative could inspire other regions to adopt similar measures, potentially leading to widespread legal protections for artists worldwide.
• Industry Endorsement: The widespread support from various music industry groups underscores the importance and timeliness of this legislation.

The ELVIS Act marks a small but important development in the music industry's ongoing efforts to adapt to technological advancements. There is a clear need for legal frameworks that keep pace with technological innovations, ensuring artists' rights and creative outputs are adequately protected. For indie artists, this is a crucial development to follow, as it could shape the future of music creation and rights in the era of AI.

Already, we are seeing unions like SAG-AFTRA drop the ball by allowing AI voices in games after such lengthy strikes to prevent these exact situations. With these sorts of precedents being set, there is really no clear legal framework for how AI voice clones are supposed to be handled yet. The ELVIS act and laws like it are going to be nessicary if we expect to see

If artists want to see these types of protections enacted country wide, now is the time to contact your state and local representatives. Let your representatives know that you want to see these same protection at a state and federal level, BEFORE legal precedent is set in AI's favor and established as legal precedent. The sooner protections are enacted, the less likely we will be to see artists having their likenesses stolen for unauthorized projects. For more info, see the Tennessee Office of Governor's Newsroom post.

All this being said, Governor Lee's act has to be taken with a grain of salt. This is the same governor who has signed 7 anti-lgbtq bills into law in 2023 alone according to a Human Rights Campaign report, a nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy group. Protecting artists is important, but our representatives should aim to protect all members of our society equally, and for that reason, Lee's actions in protecting artists are still important, but not worth patting him on the back for.