I remember performing with the Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in 1968. Several of our songs, including “Baby Love,” had already hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts. What I couldn’t have anticipated then, however, is that decades later, artists like us wouldn’t be fairly compensated for play of those songs.
A major flaw in U.S. copyright law leaves music recorded before Feb. 15, 1972, unprotected. Hitmakers of Motown and other legacy artists are not paid the same way as younger artists, or at all.
However, the Music Modernization Act would guarantee equal compensation to artists on digital and satellite radio. I urge Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., to join Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., in supporting this legislation. Let’s give hard-working artists what they are due.