Bipartisan Bill Seeks Royalties for Pre-1972 Musical Works

A bipartisan bill has been introduced to establish copyright protections for performances of pre-1972 musical works. Reps Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) are sponsoring the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act (HR 3301).

“This an important and overdue fix to the law that will help settle years of litigation and restore some equity to this inexplicable gap in our copyright system," Issa said. “For years, we have been working to ensure royalty payments for artists who recorded many of our great musical classics before 1972," said Nadler. The new bill is an adjunct to the legislators' Fair Play Fair Pay Act music licensing bill introduced earlier this year and has been introduced in the past.