Bill Lee, governor of the US state of Tennessee, signed legislation aimed at protecting songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals from the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The move makes the state of Tennessee, known as the birthplace of country music and a launching pad for musical legends, the first in the US to enact such measures.

Supporters, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper, say the aim is to ensure that AI tools cannot reproduce an artist’s voice without their consent. The bill takes effect on July 1.

“We employ more people in Tennessee in the music industry than any other state” Lee told reporters yesterday shortly after the bill was signed. “Artists own intellectual property. They have gifts. They have a uniqueness that is theirs and theirs alone, certainly not Artificial Intelligence” he emphasized.

The US state is one of only three in which name, photographs and form are considered a property right and not a right of publicity.

It remains to be seen how effective the legislation will be for artists who want to protect their art from being copied and reproduced by AI without their permission.

Many Tennessee musicians say they can’t afford to wait for a perfect solution, pointing out that AI threats are already appearing on their cell phones and in their recording studios.