With live musical performances effectively silenced by the pandemic, the state of Hawaii gave a boost to local musicians Thursday with the signing of a bill designed to protect them from having someone else fraudulently use their identity to promote a performance.

In the first “virtual” bill-signing in state history, Gov. David Ige signed the Truth in Music Advertising Act. With the pandemic requiring social distancing measures, he sat alone at his desk while signing the bill, witnessed on a Zoom-cast by musicians Keali‘i Reichel and Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom, state Sen. Kalani English and Rafael Fernandez of the Recording Industry Association of America, a backer of the bill.

“We are proud of our local musicians, whose music plays a major role in our culture and heritage, and has for decades,” Ige said. “We have celebrated the achievements of our state’s musical artists entertaining our citizens and bringing generations together.”

The legislation was spawned by concerns nationwide by members of classic bands, such as the Platters and the Drifters, who have seen others perform under those names even though they had no link to the original band. In the case of the Drifters, a long-running lawsuit was fought by two groups over the use of the name.

Ige said such practices not only take away performing opportunities and the resulting fees from the original artists, but also effectively rob music fans.

The bill prohibits a person from “advertising or conducting a live musical performance through the use of false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association with a performing group, and allows for restitution,” Ige said. “This Truth in Music Advertising Act will preserve the integrity of Hawaii’s arts not just for creators, but for consumers like myself who just as often feel cheated by someone who impersonates real live artists.”

English, who sponsored the bill, said it would help protect the legacy of historic Hawaii musicians like his cousin Myra English, who sang the 1968 hit “Drinking Champagne” and became known as the Champagne Lady. “The key strength of this bill is its simple premise: Don’t take something that is not yours, and don’t pretend to be someone else,” he said.

For the musicians, the bill is a matter of protecting the authenticity of their art.

“I think it’s good to have a measure of protection, because we have so little protections as musicians,” said Reichel, a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, noting how musicians’ images often appear on social media without approval. He stressed the need for “whatever tools we can get to protect ourselves, protect our craft, protect our creativity, protect everything that we’ve worked for to ensure that our kupuna live and breathe through us, through our creative works.”

Gilliom, also a multiple Hoku Award winner, said she sees her music as a “trust” for her daughter to carry on with her work. “A lot of people don’t realize that that’s what artists do,” she said. “That’s what the old-timers did. They created a body of work to pass to the next generation for them to care of, for them to worry about copyright for the next generation.”

The bill permits advertising by a tribute band or by authorized groups, and in certain other instances.

Hawaii joins 34 other states who have passed similar bills. The bill is HB 1678.