In a nearly unprecedented move, the Tennessee General Assembly recently passed legislation with unanimous votes in both the state House and Senate. This legislation was signed into law last month in classic Nashville style — the signing took place at Robert’s Western World on Lower Broad.
The Ensuring Likeness, Voice and Image Security Act protects the music industry and its professionals from the damaging potential of artificial intelligence. The new law, which updates our existing personal rights law and is fittingly named with the acronym ELVIS, is the first of its kind in the country. I am proud that our fine state and our music industry championed this important legislation and brought it to a vote.
It’s been against the law for decades to use someone’s likeness without permission. In fact, our state law protecting an artist’s name, image and likeness was written and became law in 1984, and it too was groundbreaking legislation. The Personal Rights Protection Act of 1984 helped protect the estate of the late Elvis Presley, in fact, which makes the acronym of this new law even more appropriate. That legislation was also championed by Tennessee lawmakers, and it has now been updated to incorporate a person’s voice into the existing protections for someone’s name, image and likeness.
Tennessee becomes first state to codify voice, image and likeness protections against AI
It is not often that a legislative body votes in unison for a piece of legislation. It is the mark of our state’s emphasis on protecting the individuals who rely on their artistic skill and creativity for their professions, and for protecting our state’s music industry as a whole. It is both the right and the smart thing to do. After all, the music industry is the linchpin for a significant portion of our state’s economy. As the governor’s office reported, “Tennessee’s music industry supports more than 61,617 jobs across the state, contributes $5.8 billion to our GDP, and fills over 4,500 music venues.” That is a considerable portion of our state economy directly supported by the music industry, and it is worth protecting. We should all thank our elected officials in the General Assembly for their development and support of this legislation. The sponsors of this bill are to be applauded.
I find it quite appropriate, too, that the legislation drew support from such a broad spectrum of music professionals. It was not just the country music industry that sounded the alarm to this new threat to personal creativity — it was a who’s-who of music industry groups from all genres. Country, blues, gospel, contemporary Christian, Americana, folk, R&B — representatives from all of these genres were in support of this legislation. The ELVIS Act has made waves across the country and beyond, with attention being paid by media outlets in other cities where creativity and artistic expression reign. The New York Times commented on this law with the tongue-in-cheek headline “Tennessee Makes A.I. an Outlaw to Protect Its Country Music and More.”
How fitting is it that the name of the ELVIS Act is a nod to one of the world’s most iconic performers? Elvis Presley, while not born in Tennessee, certainly made an impact on our music industry, and he made Tennessee his home. Graceland, his Memphis mansion, has long been a fixture among our state’s most popular tourist destinations. Some of his earliest and most successful recordings were made on Nashville’s famed Music Row in legendary studios with many of the city’s iconic session musicians. Legend has it that Elvis’ 1961 visit to the state Capitol was accompanied by so many screaming fans that people reported feeling the foundation of the building shake! It’s also quite fitting that this law was finalized and voted on by both the state House and Senate within days of the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s March 8, 1961, visit to the Tennessee General Assembly.
The fact that Tennessee is the first state to enact such protective legislation is a testament to the importance of our music industry and to the community support our state is famous for. We take care of each other here in Tennessee, and this law is the perfect example of that.
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and The News.
