What does “federalizing” pre-1972 recordings mean??
Before 1972, federal copyright law did not protect musical recordings; the only way to copyright music was to copyright the sheet music and lyrics. Therefore, if someone recorded a musical performance without permission and sold records of that performance, only the songwriters could sue for copyright infringement; the performer was without legal recourse. Since 1972, you can copyright not only the notes and lyrics, but also a recorded performance. The proposal, apparently, is to retroactively give copyright protection to musical recordings made before 1972.