The MLC does not use these categorizations with respect to its Members. Only the individual or company which has the right to collect mechanical royalties from a licensee should become a Member of The MLC. Members of The MLC will most often be the music publisher, administrator, or ex-U.S. mechanical collective management organization (CMO). A self-administered songwriter, composer, or lyricist, may also become a Member of The MLC because that person is essentially acting as a music publisher or administrator on their own behalf, not because they are a writer of a musical work.
This is different from Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), where songwriters, composers, and lyricists join as writers, and may also join as publishers if they are self-administered. The MLC does not pay separate shares to writers and publishers.
