April is Financial Literacy Month—a perfect time to reflect on the importance of understanding and managing your finances as a music creator. At The MLC, we’re committed to helping our Members not only receive the royalties they’ve earned but also gain the knowledge they need to take control of their financial futures.
Our Member Finance team helps creators access their royalties and ensures member accounts are set up correctly with the necessary financial and tax information, track down delayed royalties, and proactively reach out to rightsholders who haven’t yet connected with The MLC, but who have royalties waiting for them. Since 2021, we’ve helped more than 650 rightsholders become Members—unlocking over $3 million in previously unpaid royalties.
These success stories highlight why financial literacy and proactive account management are so important. If you’re not registered, or if your information isn’t current, you could miss out on royalties you've rightfully earned. But with the right tools, support, and planning, you can take control of your music business and maximize your earnings.
Navigating Your Finances as a Music Creator—Three Practical Steps:
When it comes to managing music income, knowledge is power. Here are a few practical steps to help you stay on top of your royalties:
- Know Where Your Royalties Come From
Your music can earn royalties from several sources when it’s distributed digitally, and understanding how you get paid is a key part of managing your finances. At The MLC, we’ve created a digital royalties landscape to help you see which organizations you should be connected with—like The MLC, your PRO (performing rights organization), SoundExchange, and others.
Check out this video to learn more:
- Use Tools to Claim and Track Your Royalties
As a Member of The MLC, you have access to a powerful suite of tools designed to help you track your royalties and ensure you’re getting paid for the use of your music. Here’s how you can put these tools to work:
- Search for Your Songs with the Public Work Search:
Our Public Work Search allows anyone to search The MLC’s song ownership database—for free. You can look up your songs, review the registered data, and share it as needed. It’s a great way to verify that your works are properly registered in our database.
- Claim Your Shares with the Claiming Tool:
If you find a song that’s registered but missing your share, use our Claiming Tool. The Claiming Tool allows Members to easily search The MLC’s database for partially claimed songs and claim their shares.
- Propose Matches with the Matching Tool:
Sometimes, The MLC receives usage data we can’t immediately match to a registered song. With our Matching Tool, Members can propose matches between sound recordings and their songs.
- Register New Songs with the Works Registration Tools:
If you have songs that are not yet in our database, use The MLC’s Works Registration Tools to register them. Once they’re registered, you can begin collecting royalties for those songs.
The MLC Member Portal also includes other helpful tools, like a Payment Summary feature that can help you identify trends in your earnings and compare your royalty payments over time. Utilizing these tools and information can help you better understand your earnings and make sure no money is left on the table.
- Take Time to Make Sure Your Information is Up to Date
Staying organized is crucial for self-administered songwriters who want to make sure they’re getting every penny they’ve earned. Start by using The MLC’s digital royalties landscape to identify the various organizations you may need to register with. Then, create a personal tracking document that lists each organization, your account numbers, and how often they issue royalty payments.
Set aside time on a quarterly or semi-annual basis to log into each account, review recent reports or payments, and confirm everything is in order. At least once a year, take the extra step to update your contact details, banking info, and tax forms. A little proactive maintenance ensures your royalties keep flowing without interruption.
Empowering You to Take Control
At The MLC, we believe that knowledge is the first step toward financial empowerment. We’re here to provide the tools, resources, and support you need to manage your music income with confidence.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to:
- Register with The MLC
- Make sure your banking and tax info is current
- Explore the resources in your Member Portal
If you have any questions or need assistance, our Support Team is here for you.
Let’s keep building a music industry where creators are not only heard—but paid, accurately and on time.
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