Musicians support Tennessee bill to protect artists from artificial intelligence
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Gov. Bill Lee presented a bill Wednesday that would protect musicians’ voices from the misuse of artificial intelligence by making it a Class A misdemeanor and allowing artists to collect damages.
The bill would change Tennessee’s current Protection of Personal Rights law to add performers’ voices to the list of what is protected under the legislation.
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Nashville artist, Anastasia Elliot told News 2 the capabilities of AI are both fascinating and terrifying for a musician. She believes the technology could be beneficial during the beginning stages of writing a song, but she said the voice-mimicking capabilities go too far.
“The voice modeling stuff and not having any protections for artists, it’s similar I think to identity theft,” Elliot said. “You can’t use a business’s logo to make money and make products of your own without their consent, and I think when you’re a vocalist and or an artist, you spend years developing your craft and a ton of money developing your craft, and it is like a sonic signature that nobody should be able to use without your consent,” she continued.
Singer and songwriter, Jamie Kent also expressed his concerns over AI.
“Without any guardrails and protections in place, me as a singer has no way of knowing an AI platform isn’t just recreating my voice, and anyone can’t go on there and say, ‘Write a Jamie Kent song,’ and suddenly my value as an artist is gone,” Kent said.
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Tennessee is the first state in the country to introduce legislation to protect artists’ voices from the misuse of AI, alongside a federal bill, called the No Fakes Act, which would require AI to have consent from artists and allow them to collect damages.
“Tennessee is truly the music capital of the world, so we need to be at the forefront of regulating AI and protecting our musicians, protecting our singers; protecting our songwriters,” Kent said. “It’s no surprise that we’re the first state out the gate to introduce legislation like this.”
Artists like Elliot believe once certain restrictions are in place, the music industry could use AI for good.
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“I hope that, with better regulation, it’s able to help artists offload the things that take too much of our time and allow us to create more,” Elliot said.
Leader William Lamberth plans to present the bill to the General Assembly. Gov. Lee believes other states will follow suit and draft similar legislation.
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