The rollout of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) began on January 1, 2021, as laid out in the Music Modernization Act. The MLC will streamline the mechanical licensing system and should result in more mechanical royalties being paid to songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers. Here’s what that means for artists, and why it’s important to join the MLC!
What is it? The MLC was designed with songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers in mind, many of whom faced issues collecting their mechanical royalties from digital service providers like Spotify and Pandora (“DSPs”). Prior to the MLC, mechanical licenses were obtained by licensees on a song-by-song basis, which often led to the artists losing out on their well-deserved royalties. The MLC hopes to remedy this shortcoming and put more money into the hands of the artists, where it belongs. By joining the MLC as a songwriter, composer, lyricist, or publisher, you can take advantage of this new system and start collecting the money you’re owed.
So how does this all work? The MLC will replace the song-by-song licensing system with a new blanket license system. The MLC will develop and maintain a comprehensive database of musical works and sound recordings, which will be publicly available. Using this database, the MLC will administer blanket mechanical licenses to DSPs in the United States. The MLC will collect mechanical royalties from DSPs and pay you for when your songs are streamed or downloaded on the DSPs’ platforms.
So how will you get paid? Songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers will need to become members of the MLC to collect payments. Members can register their musical works with the MLC database, review and update existing works, and identify new sound recordings that feature their works. Each DSP will send MLC monthly usage data, including when your songs are streamed or downloaded on the DSP’s platform, and the corresponding royalties to be paid to you. Once the MLC determines the royalties due for each work, the MLC will deliver payments directly to you through your MLC account!
If you are a songwriter, composer, lyricist, or publisher, you can sign up with the MLC here to ensure you get paid the mechanical royalties you are owed. And there are a couple of MLC webinars coming up on February 18 & 23 (see below). If you have any questions about the MLC or how to sign up, please reach out to us at Creative Law Network and we’ll help in any way we can!
The MLC Presents: Why & How to Become a Member
Thursday, February 18, 9 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. CT | Noon ET
The MLC Presents: How Self-Administered Songwriters Can Connect to Collect
Tuesday, February 23, 9 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. CT | Noon ET