WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today joined four of his Senate colleagues to introduce the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, & Important Contributions to Society Act, or CLASSICS Act. The bipartisan legislation would ensure that recording artists from the pre-1972 music eras are fairly compensated when their music is played digitally.

For historical reasons, sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 are governed by state law rather than federal law. In recent years, this has led to disputes as to the scope of state law rights when sound recordings are performed by digital music services. The CLASSICS Act would correct that oddity by bringing those pre-1972 sound recordings into the federal system, thus allowing the artists and owners of such recordings to be fairly compensated when their music is digitally transmitted. 

The legislation is authored by Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) and cosponsored by Senators Corker, Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

“Tennessee is blessed with a vibrant music industry composed of talented songwriters, skilled musicians, and gifted recording artists,” said Corker. “However, while the industry has been transformed with advances in technology, we have yet to modernize the way music creators are compensated for their work. It is nonsensical that today some of our legendary performers may not get paid for the hits they recorded before 1972, and this legislation will provide certainty for those artists.”

The CLASSICS Act is supported by the American Association of Independent Music, the Recording Industry Association of America, Pandora, musicFIRST, the Internet Association, the Recording Academy, SoundExchange, Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians, the Content Creators Coalition, the Future of Music Coalition, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and the Living Legends Foundation. 

Last month, Corker joined seven of his Senate colleagues to introduce the Music Modernization Act. The bipartisan legislation would be the most significant change in music licensing laws in decades to ensure songwriters are paid fair value for their songs. The Music Modernization Act would set up a new simplified licensing entity to make it easier for digital music companies to obtain a license and play songs. The entity will also ensure songwriters are paid the royalties they are owed.