While visiting Washington to receive a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to popular songwriting, Sir Paul McCartney weighed in on one of the biggest music industry issues currently being debated on Capitol Hill.

At a press conference Tuesday, The ex-Beatle was asked if he felt vocalists should receive royalties when recordings of their performances are played over the airwaves. Currently only songwriters and publishers do.

"I think they should," he said, indicating that recording artists should be paid for their work in general. "I've had the best of it," added McCartney, but he asked reporters to imagine a young songwriter trying to make a living from his music while having to deal with free distribution of his work. "If he doesn't get paid for that, it's unfair."

http://blogs.forbes.com/beltway/2010/06/01/paul-mccartney-to-radio-stati...