Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., applauded Monday’s summary judgment...

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., applauded Monday’s summary judgment ruling for pre-1972 public performance royalties against SiriusXM in U.S. District Court (CD Sept 24 p7), in a statement Tuesday. The Los Angeles court said SiriusXM broke California copyright law by failing to license and compensate Flo & Eddie for their pre-1972 sound recordings (http://bit.ly/1wKCoyz). “Artists deserve to be compensated for their creativity,” said Blackburn, a co-sponsor of the Respecting Senior Performers as Essential Cultural Treasures Act (HR-4772) (http://1.usa.gov/1wLsXPc). The act would establish performance royalties on digital radio for pre-1972 recordings (CD June 19 p11). Blackburn said she hoped the ruling would “encourage other digital services such as Pandora to step up and voluntarily compensate artists for their pre-1972 recordings.”