Will record companies continue to secure mechanical licenses and pay mechanical royalties?

Record companies will still need to secure mechanical licenses and pay mechanical royalties for mechanical uses of musical works in physical products, like CDs and vinyl records. Under the U.S. copyright law, the blanket licenses The MLC is administering can include permanent download use, but the DSPs also have the option to continue to rely on record companies to provide those licenses and pay those royalties via what is called a pass-through license.