American Songwriter: The MLC in 3 Update: Over $2 Billion in Streaming Royalties Distributed in the First 3 Years – Are You Collecting Yours?

Last month, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) reached a significant milestone by distributing over $2 billion in total royalties to members, including thousands of songwriters and music publishers. The MLC reached this milestone in just over three years since the first royalty distribution in April 2021. Since then, The MLC has delivered royalty distributions each month and has grown membership to over 38,000.

So, how do you know if you should become a member of The MLC?

The MLC is a nonprofit organization revolutionizing the way songwriters, publishers and other rightsholders are paid for their music that streams on digital platforms (like Apple Music and Spotify) in the United States. Every month, The MLC collects digital audio (streaming) mechanical royalties and data from those platforms, matches the money to the creator who has earned it, and then pays them (or their publishers and administrator partners) the royalties they are due. And membership is completely free!

If you are a songwriter and your music is streaming in the U.S., you need to make sure you are connected with The MLC to collect your streaming royalties. There are a few different ways to collect your royalties, depending on if you are independently published or if you have a publisher.

For songwriters who do not have a publisher or administrator (sometimes called a “self-administered” songwriter), you can sign up and become a member of The MLC and receive your monthly royalties directly from The MLC. If you have a publisher or administrator, they will collect your royalties for you. However, if you have a publisher or administrator but you also have some songs that are self-published, you will need to become a member of The MLC to collect the royalties for the songs you have independently published.

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CONNECTING WITH THE MLC IS FREE AND EASY

Whether you’re an independent songwriter, a music publisher or administrator, a collective management organization, or someone looking to better manage your song data, The MLC is for YOU! Join today to connect your songs with the streaming royalties they’ve earned.

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