Inside a honky tonk, Tennessee governor signs ELVIS Act to protect music industry from AI

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — In a historic move to protect the state's music industry from the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), Gov. Bill Lee signed the ELVIS Act into law Thursday.

The governor signed the bill inside a Nashville honky tonk. The legislation updates Tennessee’s Protection of Personal Rights law to include protections for songwriters, performers and music industry professionals’ voice from AI. It's a first in the nation to protect against the unauthorized use of someone’s likeness by adding “voice” to the existing protections.

"This industry, these artists, this ecosystem, it's crucial for our state -- our-country -- if we want to protect it." -Gov. Bill Lee

According to the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus, Tennessee’s music industry supports more than 61,617 jobs across the state, contributes $5.8 billion to the state’s GDP, and fills over 4,500 music venues.

Tennessee’s current law protects name, image and likeness, but it doesn’t specifically address new, personalized generative AI cloning models and services that enable human impersonation and allow users to make unauthorized fake works in the image and voice of others.

Country music singers Luke Bryan and Chris Janson were also in attendance. Gov. Lee called it the "coolest bill signing ever."

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