Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the United States’ very first artificial intelligence music law: the ELVIS Act, which modifies pre-existing legislation to guard the voices of artists as property rights.

Amending the state’s pre-existing Personal Rights Protection Act of 1984, the law, titled the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024, basically promotes an individual’s voice as a property right, like their name, photograph, and likeness. Those who willingly use an individual’s voice “for purposes of advertising products, merchandise, goods, or services, or for purposes of fundraising, solicitation of donations, purchases of products, merchandise, goods, or services” are responsible to a civil action.

The language of the ELVIS Act also clarifies situations in which the unauthorized use of an individual’s voice is, in fact, permitted, which include references “in connection with any news, public affairs, or sports broadcast,” as well as instances of “comment, criticism, scholarship, satire, or parody.”

Additionally, “fleeting or incidental” use of a voice is allowed, unless the audiovisual work creates “the false impression that the work is an authentic recording in which the individual participated.”

The governor commented, “From Beale Street to Broadway, to Bristol and beyond, Tennessee is known for our rich artistic heritage that tells the story of our great state.” In his remarks, Bryan called the law “an amazing precedent to set,” and thanked the state for protecting “what [artists] work so hard for.”