The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) announced today that it has received a total of $424,384,787 in accrued historical unmatched royalties from digital service providers (DSPs), together with corresponding data reports that identify the usage related to these royalties.
A total of 20 DSPs separately transferred accrued historical unmatched royalties to The MLC as required in order for them to seek the MMA’s limitation on liability for past infringement. In addition to the accrued unmatched royalties transferred to The MLC, the DSPs concerned also delivered more than 1,800 data files, which contain in excess of 1.3 terabytes and nine billion lines of data.
The transfer of these monies represents the culmination of a months-long effort on the part of The MLC and these DSPs to develop and implement the specifications for these usage reports. With these historical unmatched royalties and usage reports now in hand, The MLC can begin the process of reviewing and analyzing the data in order to find and pay the proper copyright owners.
Going forward, The MLC will provide additional information about historical unmatched royalties on a newly-created page on its website entitled “Historical Unmatched Royalties.” Below is an initial summary of the historical unmatched royalties separately transferred to The MLC by each DSP:
This table provides information on transfers of accrued unmatched royalties (“Transfers”) by DSPs to the MLC pursuant to the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”), 17 U.S.C. 115(d)(10)(B)(iv)(III)(aa). This provision of the MMA requires DSPs to transfer to the MLC by February 15, 2021 all accrued royalties for unmatched uses of musical works that occurred prior to January 1, 2021 as one of the conditions of eligibility for a specified limitation on liability for prior infringements. The MLC is required under the MMA to engage in diligent efforts to publicize any Transfers made by a DSP throughout the music industry.
DSPs that Transfer accrued unmatched royalties must certify the accuracy of all of the data they deliver to The MLC. The MLC’s acceptance of Transfers, or posting of information on Transfers, does not constitute certification or approval by The MLC of the accuracy of any information accompanying any Transfer, the validity of any certification or the eligibility of any DSP to make a Transfer or to obtain a limitation on liability. Finally, The MLC’s publication of that information does not constitute a representation or confirmation of any kind that a DSP has met the legal requirements necessary to obtain a limitation on liability under the MMA for any prior infringing uses.
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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. As of 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.