Press Release on CLASSICS Act to Close Pre-72 Loophole | MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY

[Editor Charlie sez:  Let’s not forget–if it weren’t for The Turtles stepping up with Henry Gradstein’s team and suing Sirius and Pandora in a class action to close the nasty loophole leveraged by their legal teams, none of this would be happening.  Artist class actions work and sometimes are the only thing that work.

The consensus behind the CLASSICS Act and songwriter complaints demonstrate that the Music Modernization Act is simply not ready for prime time.  If we’re not going to stand behaind Chairman Nadler’s Fair Play Fair Pay, the CLASSICS Act deserves a chance to stand alone and not be tied to the punitive and controversial Music Modernization Act that would vastly restrict songwriter class actions.  You can support the CLASSICS Act and also acknowledge that MMA is rushed, is full of problems and not ready for prime time.]

PRESS RELEASE

Historic Coalition of 213 Musical Artists Calls on Congress to Pass CLASSICS Act,

Fix the “Pre-1972” Loophole for Legacy Artists

Music Organizations Press Congress to Consolidate

Widely Backed Music Licensing Reforms Into Single Bill

WASHINGTON, February 13, 2018 — An unprecedented coalition of 213 musical artists, supported by eight leading music organizations, called upon the U.S. Congress to pass the CLASSICS Act, bipartisan legislation pending in both the House and Senate to address one of copyright law’s most glaring loopholes.

In a two-page advertisement that will appear in Wednesday’s Politico, the artists state:

Digital radio makes billions of dollars a year from airplay of music made before Feb. 15, 1972. Yet, because of an ambiguity in state and federal copyright laws, artists and copyright owners who created that music receive nothing for the use of their work. The CLASSICS Act (H.R. 3301 / S. 2393) would correct this inequity and finally ensure that musicians and vocalists who made those timeless songs finally get their due. We urge Congress to pass the CLASSICS Act and other pro-artist reforms quickly.

The advertisement marks the start of a robust advocacy campaign by artists and music community leaders A2IM, American Federation of Musicians, Content Creators Coalition, musicFIRST Coalition, Recording Academy, Recording Industry Association of America, SAG-AFTRA and SoundExchange.

The ad can be viewed here.

The CLASSICS Act is an essential component of a package of music licensing reforms supported by the organizations that includes additional critical reforms such as the Music Modernization Act (H.R. 4706 / S. 2334), the AMP Act (H.R. 881) and the establishment of market-based rate standards. In the coming weeks, music community leaders anticipate the House Judiciary Committee will commence formal consideration of the music licensing reform legislation with the goal of consolidating the key reforms into a single bill.

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