Navigating the world of digital music royalties can be tricky, but understanding how they work is essential for songwriters. The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) plays a key role in ensuring songwriters are paid the digital mechanical royalties (also known as streaming royalties) they deserve. Here’s a breakdown of what The MLC is and why it’s so important for you.
What is The MLC?
The MLC is a nonprofit organization that is transforming the way songwriters, publishers, and other rightsholders are paid for their music that is streamed and downloaded on digital platforms like Apple Music and Spotify in the United States. Every month, The MLC collects streaming data and royalties from these platforms, matches the payments to the creators who earned them, and distributes the mechanical royalties to songwriters, publishers, and administrators.
The MLC is dedicated to ensuring that songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers receive their digital mechanical royalties accurately and on time. To date, The MLC has distributed over $2.7 billion in royalties and serves more than 50,000 members.
Who Should Join The MLC?
If you are entitled to receive digital audio mechanical royalties in the U.S. — whether you’re a self-administered songwriter, composer, lyricist, music publisher, or administrator — you need to become a member of The MLC. But what does it mean to be a self-administered songwriter? Let’s explain.
A self-administered songwriter is someone who acts as their own music publisher for the works they’ve created.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Fully Self-Administered Songwriters: These creators handle all aspects of registration, licensing, and collecting royalties for their works on their own.
- Partially Self-Administered Songwriters: These creators manage some of their works themselves but have partnered with a publisher or administrator for the remaining works, that they have entered into a legal agreement with.
By joining The MLC, you ensure that you receive all the mechanical royalties you’re owed. Best of all, membership is absolutely FREE.
Need More Information?
The MLC understands that navigating the process of collecting various types of royalties can be complex, especially if you don’t have a publisher or administrator. The MLC is here to help with a step-by-step guide for songwriters, composers, and lyricists to ensure you’re receiving all of your publishing royalties. Click here for our to-do list!
For more details on how to join The MLC, click here. You can gain additional answers and insights about The MLC by visiting the FAQ page.
