Music legends deserve R-E-S-P-E-C-T

[Commentary] For creators and producers, music is their livelihood. Their work product -- their property -- is what pays the bills. In recent months, the House Judiciary Committee has begun exploring whether copyright law is in need of revision in light of technologies that have revolutionized the way we access information and entertainment. This investigation could also reveal whether the compact between those who create music, those who distribute music and those who consume music remains fair and workable.

A quirk of history protects songs recorded before 1972 under state law and songs recorded after Feb. 15, 1972 under federal law. Some digital radio services interpret that disparity to resist paying legacy artists who recorded music before 1972. The inexplicable result is that artists whose recordings were made before 1972 are not compensated by digital radio services while their counterparts whose recordings were made after that time are paid.