Over 200 prominent musicians including Stevie Wonder, Miranda Lambert, Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Peter Frampton, Katy Perry, Smokey Robinson, and J Balvin have joined forces in a new open letter submitted by the Artist Rights Alliance non-profit. The letter calls on artificial intelligence tech companies, developers, platforms, digital music services, and platforms to cease using AI in ways that infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.

The Artist Rights Alliance, an artist-led non-profit organization advocating for musicians in the digital economy, highlights the creative possibilities of AI technology while addressing the threats it poses to human artistry. One of the concerns raised in the letter is the unauthorized use of preexisting work to train AI models, which could potentially replace artists and significantly reduce royalty payouts.

The letter emphasizes the need to protect against the predatory use of AI to steal artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights, and disrupt the music ecosystem. The full text of the letter can be found on the Artist Rights Alliance website.

In related news, Tennessee recently passed legislation known as the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act, also referred to as the "ELVIS Act." This law, which will take effect on July 1, aims to safeguard songwriters, performers, and other music industry professionals from the potential risks of AI technology. The ELVIS Act prohibits generative AI tools from replicating an artist's voice without their explicit consent.

Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee emphasized the importance of protecting artists' intellectual property and unique talents, stating that the music industry employs more people in Tennessee than in any other state. The ELVIS Act represents a proactive step towards ensuring that artists' voices and creative expressions are safeguarded in the face of advancing AI technology.