The MLC is announcing that four music data companies are joining its Data Quality Initiative (DQI): Blokur, Exactuals, Music Data Services, and TuneRegistry. Through their work with The MLC, these companies will make it much easier for their users and customers to participate in the DQI and check the accuracy of their musical works data in The MLC's current database.
The DQI provides a streamlined way for music publishers, administrators, self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists, and ex-US collective management organizations (CMOs) to compare their musical works data with The MLC’s data to ensure The MLC’s data is consistent with theirs. DQI Participants receive reports highlighting the discrepancies between the data they submit for comparison and The MLC’s data. Using these reports, participants can easily identify those discrepancies and then submit any corrections that are needed. Checking their data and making any needed corrections is one of the best things The MLC’s members can do to ensure they receive all of the mechanical royalties they are entitled to receive from The MLC.
Each company will take a different approach to helping their clients and customers participate in the DQI. Some are integrating new functionality into the data-related products, services and software platforms they already offer; others intend to work with their clients “one-on-one” to help them prepare and submit their comparison files and then review the results. Regardless of the approach, all of them will make it easier for their clients and customers to participate in the DQI.
“We’re excited to work with a wide variety of companies that deal with music data, be they emerging tech startups or legacy players in the music space, because we want to help as many of our members as possible participate in our Data Quality Initiative,” notes Dae Bogan, Head of Third Party Partnerships at The MLC. “They offer different tiers of service, from high-cost enterprise platforms to economical new software targeting self-administered songwriters and smaller publishers.”
“Our team is committed to making the process of checking data as efficient and effective as possible for all of our members,” says Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC. “Enabling innovative companies like these to make it easier for their users and customers to participate in our Data Quality Initiative helps The MLC achieve that important goal. We appreciate their willingness to help support the DQI.”
Companies interested in partnering with The MLC can get started here. More information on the Data Quality Initiative can be found here.
Phil Barry, founder and CEO of Blokur, notes: “Blokur exists to help music publishers and songwriters get paid what they should, when they should. We’re delighted to partner with The MLC to further this purpose by helping our client base of major and independent publishers to verify that their copyrights are accurately represented in The MLC database and to help ensure a successful launch for The MLC next year. Blokur’s global copyright database, which covers the majority of commercial music, combined with our unique matching technology, makes us ideally placed to help publishers get the best possible results out of the DQI and – crucially – to resolve any issues that are identified in the process painlessly. I applaud The MLC’s efforts to partner with third-party technology companies, which ensures that music publishers have access to the best technology to get the best possible experience from The MLC. We look forward to a fruitful and productive partnership that we hope will bring great value to the music publishing community.”
“We’re happy to collaborate with The MLC to help songwriters, publishers, and other rights-holders of every size submit the highest-quality metadata for their tracks to this important new organization,” said Chris McMurtry, Head of Music Product at Exactuals. “Our RAI API uses machine learning to quickly and accurately bring catalogs up to date and prepare them for distribution on every DSP. By joining forces with The MLC and their DQI initiative, we are taking a big step forward toward solving the metadata problem.”
Music Data Services’ Abby North says: “As a music rights manager working with self-published songwriters and small publishers, DQI is a tremendous asset. The ability to clearly see disparities in the CMO’s data compared to my clients’ ‘truth’ takes us one step closer to accurate registrations and accounting, and therefore, increased collections. The MLC is the first CMO I know of that has made tools for rightsholders that provide clear, transparent reporting of internal data conflicts. I look forward to working with The MLC in its data quality efforts.”
“TuneRegistry has always strived to make the difficult process of registering and distributing song metadata as simple as possible, and this partnership with The MLC is an important step forward in our mission," said William Gary, Manager of Operations at TuneRegistry. “With this partnership, small- and medium-sized rights-holders will be able to register their works and metadata via the same streamlined process they are used to, while seamlessly checking the accuracy of their work registrations at The MLC. This partnership ensures TuneRegistry users are prepared for the launch of The MLC.”
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About The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) was designated by the U.S. Register of Copyrights in July 2019 pursuant to the Music Modernization Act of 2018. The MLC is responsible for administering the new blanket compulsory license for the use of musical works by digital music services. Starting in January 2021, mechanical royalties from streaming in the U.S. will be processed and paid out by The MLC at no cost to songwriters or music publishers.
The MLC is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of songwriters and representatives of music publishers. For more background on The MLC and its Board and Committee members, go to www.TheMLC.com.
