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Music Business Worldwide: MLC Hires Richard Thompson as Chief Information Officer and Selects Partners to Develop Data Portal | Mechanical Licensing Collective

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) has appointed former Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) Chair Richard Thompson as Chief Information Officer.

Thompson will be responsible for overseeing the development and launch of the MLC’s data platform to distribute royalties payable to songwriters and copyright owners.

Thompson had been serving in an interim capacity for the MLC since February 2019.
The MLC has also named some of the vendors that will support the creation of the public database, which, as directed by the Music Modernization Act (MMA), will contain critical copyright information on all musical works and will launch on January 1, 2021.

Technology company ConsenSys and mechanical licensing administrator Harry Fox Agency (HFA) received unanimous approval from the MLC Board to become the primary vendors responsible for managing the matching of digital uses to musical works, distributing mechanical royalties, and onboarding songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers and their catalogs to the database.

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Our mission is to support creators like you with full transparency into the performance of your music. Our member portal helps you see which of your songs have earned royalties, which ones are still being matched, and when payments are made. This openness helps you trust the process and know that your songs are being tracked and paid for fairly.

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DURP Informational Webinar

If you’re an independent music distributor, aggregator, or sound recording distributor interested in accessing all the unmatched recordings you’ve

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Data Programs at The MLC The MLC’s data programs support the efforts of dozens of digital media and technology companies around the world to gain insight

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iStock-493969748_@1x FAQs

What are the regulations and where can one find the full text of the rates and terms for Phono 4?

The CRB published a Final Rule in the U.S. Federal Register setting the blanket license mechanical royalty rates for permanent digital downloads.

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Where can I find answers about The MLC portal?

After you have established a login to the Portal, you will find helpful information in our Knowledge Base.

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I want to read the regulation myself. Where can I find it?

The regulation outlining this entire process is found in 37 CFR 210.10(c)(5). You can also reference the regulation along with supplementary information as

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