The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), the entity that collects mechanical royalties in the US, has announced it has distributed nearly $2.5 billion in royalties since it began operations three-and-a-half years ago.
That’s up by roughly $1 billion in just the past year (The MLC reported in October 2023 that it had distributed $1.5bn in royalties) and up by almost $500 million since March, when the org confirmed that it had exceeded $2 billion in royalties distributed to publishers and songwriters.
The MLC was established under the Music Modernization Act (MMA) of 2018, which mandated the creation of an agency that would administer the blanket compulsory mechanical licenses issued to eligible streaming services operating in the US.
The MLC says that, since its first monthly royalty distribution in April 2021, it has enrolled some 47,000 members, including 11,000 so far in 2024.
Its publicly accessible database of music now includes 42 million works, including 7 million added this year. That database of music ownership has a match rate of over 90%, and The MLC has received and approved nearly 2 million proposed matches submitted by members through its Matching Tool.
The MLC’s payouts include $150 million in historical royalties, the collective said in a statement issued on Friday (October 11).
“We’re incredibly grateful for the support we have received from our members and industry partners,” The MLC’s CEO, Kris Ahrend, said in a statement.
“It is because of their support and partnership that we have been able to fulfill our mission so effectively and achieve these milestones.”
Ahrend added that The MLC remains “committed to providing world-class service that empowers our members, enhances transparency, drives innovation, and transforms the way rights are administered in the music industry.”
“We remain committed to providing world-class service that empowers our Members, enhances transparency, drives innovation, and transforms the way rights are administered in the music industry.”
Kris Ahrend, The Mechanical Licensing Collective
Additionally, The MLC announced two new appointments and one re-appointment to its Board of Directors, which comprises songwriters and representatives of music publishers.
The MLC’s Class A members selected Istanbul-born songwriter and record producer Warren “Oak” Felder to the Board as a Songwriter Director, while Class B members selected Jason Rys, CEO of Wixen Music Publishing, to the Board as a Publisher Director.
They also re-elected Rell Lafargue, President and COO of Reservoir Media, to a second three-year term as Publisher Director.
The MMA mandates that The MLC’s Board of Directors be composed of 10 representatives of music publishers and four professional songwriters who retain and license mechanical rights for their works.
The collective has proven to be an aggressive advocate for its members’ mechanical rights, taking Spotify to court earlier this year over the streaming service’s decision to pay out lower mechanical royalty rates by declaring its Premium subscription services to be “bundles” with audiobooks.Music Business Worldwide