Shirley Bassey - Dame Shirley Bassey And Roger Daltrey Welcome Copyright Ruling

The law, which is expected to be ratified on Monday (12Sep11), will enable ageing stars to receive royalties before the 50-year copyright expires on songs from the 1960s.

Songs by artists and acts including the Supremes, the Monkees and Bassey are likely to benefit from the legislation, which has been dubbed the Cliff Richard's law, after the Living Doll hitmaker.

Reacting to the news, Bassey says, "This is very favourable news for the music industry. So many of my songs would soon be out of copyright under the old rules... Unlike diamonds, copyright is not forever, but I'm happy it will last a little bit longer."

The Who star Daltrey adds, "It's extremely good news. I don't know why there was any argument that this shouldn't be done. The only people who would benefit from it not going through would be bootleggers. Musicians need to be paid... I can't see who would gain from copyright running out."