5 things songwriters should know about The MLC’s royalty distributions

Last month the new Mechanical Licensing Collective began distributing some of the $40 million it had just collected from music streaming services.

To help songwriters understand the process and get their fair share, The MLC shared these 5 things songwriters should know about The MLC’s royalty distributions.

April 16^th of this year was an entirely new kind of pay day for many songwriters, composers, lyricists and other rightsholders – and an important milestone for the entire music industry – when The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) completed its first digital audio mechanical royalty distribution to Members.

The MLC is committed to making sure every rightsholder who is entitled to mechanical royalties receives them accurately and on time. But those individuals must become MLC Members to be eligible for royalties and as payments continue to roll out, there are a few key details about The MLC’s royalty distributions that they should know

1. When do royalty payments get distributed?

The MLC will issue royalty payments and statements monthly, about 75 days following the end of each calendar month (for example, the April 16 distribution covered royalties collected for January 2021). When royalty statements are made available, MLC Members will receive a notification directing them to the Royalties section of The MLC Portal to access their statements.

2. How are royalty payments delivered to Members?

Self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists will be paid their royalties directly via the banking information they have submitted to The MLC. Songwriters, composers and lyricists who have designated a music publisher, administrator or CMO to collect royalties on their behalf will be paid through those entities. Those individuals should check with their publisher, administrator, or CMO directly to confirm the receipt and/or timing of their royalty payments.

MLC Members based in the United States can choose to receive payments via ACH (U.S. direct deposit), physical (paper) checks or wire transfer, while Members based outside the U.S. can receive them via eCheck (foreign direct deposit), physical (paper) checks or wire transfer.

What is The MLC’s royalty match rate?

On its first distribution, The MLC was able to match nearly 80% of the royalties reported by digital service providers (DSPs) to musical works registered via The MLC Portal, which aligns with industry benchmarks for initial matching results.

During the matching process, there may be instances where royalties are matched to registered works, but claims have yet to be submitted on those works by the proper rightsholder. In other cases, some matched royalties are put on legal hold or The MLC has not yet been able to match usage to the musical works in its public database.

The MLC expects its initial match rate (and the total royalties claimed by Members) to increase as Members confirm their splits on newly-released works and new Members add their data for previously-unregistered works to its database.

What can Members do to improve the matching process?

The biggest thing MLC Members can do to improve the process – and make sure they receive all the royalties they have earned – is regularly check the accuracy of the musical works data they have registered with The MLC and promptly update their listings with data for any new songs they add to their catalogs.

What is The MLC doing to improve the matching process?

The MLC will continue working to reduce the amount of royalties that are currently pending distribution by matching uses to registered musical works and identifying rightsholders who have not yet claimed their shares of matched royalties. The MLC is also collaborating with DSPs to improve the data that they supply, which ultimately helps to streamline the matching process.

To learn more about The MLC and the royalty distribution process visit our website at themlc.com.