Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) of the House Judiciary Subcommittee for Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet introduced bipartisan legislation today that would help musicians by closing a loophole in federal copyright law. Digital radio is not currently required to pay pre-1972 musicians, performers and artists for playing their music. The CLASSICS Act (Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act) grants sound recordings made prior to 1972 federal copyright law protection to ensure royalty payments for musicians and other artists.

“Paying musicians for their work is simply the right thing to do. Shamefully some of our greatest artists are being deprived of income because of an arbitrary date. The CLASSICS Act will ensure that musicians are paid for their recordings regardless of when the recordings are made,” said AFM International President Ray Hair. “I applaud Representatives Issa and Nadler for their leadership on this issue.”