Audio Video News

Republicans and Democrats may not agree on much, but at least one member of each party would like to see musicians get paid royalties on musical works produced before 1972.

Reps. Darryl Issa (R-CA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) are cosponsoring the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act, a.k.a. the Classics Act. The issue has been bouncing around the courts, notably in a lawsuit by Flo & Eddie, composers of the Turtles hit “Happy Together,” who sued SiriusXM for using that and other songs without paying the artists. A circuit court decision favored the broadcaster.

The Classics Act is “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,” said Rep. Issa.