The Mechanical Licensing Collective Sets Nashville Headquarters Location

The Mechanical Licensing Collective has announced its Nashville-based headquarters will be located on the second floor of MarketStreet Enterprises’ Three Thirty Three building, at the corner of 11th Avenue and Pine Street in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood, with plans to open the new 17,800-square-feet MLC headquarters in Spring 2021.

“The central location of the Three Thirty Three building – between Music Row, downtown, where so many of our future Members are located — was paramount to The MLC in our selection of the location for our new headquarters. It will be easily accessible to our Members who are based in Nashville, as well as to those based elsewhere who come to Nashville. Additionally, the building’s large floor plate and open design will give us the flexibility we need to design a space that can accommodate a variety of different activities within The MLC office, including work and collaboration spaces for our employees and space to host outreach and educational events for our Members and others in the music community,” said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC.

The nonprofit MLC was designated by the U.S. Copyright Office under the Music Modernization Act of 2018. Beginning in January 2021, the MLC will issue and administer blanket mechanical licenses to eligible streaming and download services in the United States. The MLC will also collect royalties due under those licenses from the DSPs and pay songwriters, composers, music publishers and lyricists, at no cost to the writers, publishers or their administrators.

The MLC has enlisted the services of Nashville-based strategist and designer Heather Mathias to collaborate on the layout and design of its headquarters. Mathias has previously created progressive, creative office spaces for a number of Nashville’s leading technology and entertainment companies, including Asurion, Google, Lyft, Microsoft, Sony Music, Warner Music and WME. The MLC partnered with commercial real estate brokers Tom Hooper and Kevin Ziomek of JLL and Waller Law’s Philip Head and Andrew Cornwell to represent it in its lease negotiations.

“Our vision for Three Thirty Three was to utilize first-to-market, innovative technologies within the authentic form of an early 20th century warehouse. The office and retail space, along with the adjacent Noble Park, foster a sense of community for the enjoyment of our tenants, patrons and visitors to the Gulch. We are excited to welcome The MLC to the Gulch community and look forward to building a longstanding relationship as they shape the future of the music industry,” said Jay Turner, Managing Director of Market Street Enterprises.