The Mechanical Licensing Collective Begins Full Operations

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The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) officially began administering the new blanket license, established by the Music Modernization Act of 2018, on Jan. 1, 2021. The MLC anticipates sending out its first royalty payments and statements in April of 2021.

Services operating under the blanket license will be required to send monthly usage reports and mechanical royalty payments to The MLC, who will then match the usage activity to the appropriate musical works owners using the data in The MLC’s new musical works database, and distribute the royalties it has received to music publishers, musical works administrators and self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists.

“The MLC has spent more than a year preparing for the License Availability Date, developing numerous resources for creators and music publishers to help them navigate the changes to mechanical licensing, conducting crucial outreach with well over 50 digital service providers (DSPs) and undertaking a widespread outreach campaign to educate music publishers, administrators, self-administrated songwriters and others in the broader music industry about The MLC’s mission and purpose,” said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC. “We have also been fortunate to receive valuable input and guidance from our Board and Committee members—songwriters, publishers and digital service executives themselves—which has helped shape The MLC’s mission and scope of work since passage of The MMA. The arrival today of the License Availability Date marks yet another milestone in the process of making the promises of the MMA a reality, and The MLC team could not be more excited.”

Since last summer, The MLC has engaged with more than 50 DSPs expected to be eligible to secure the new blanket license to ensure those services are aware of their new legal responsibilities and solicit feedback. Working closely with the Digital Licensee Coordinator, the organization created by The MMA to represent digital audio services, The MLC conducted a series of webinars specifically designed for DSP representatives. Last Fall, The MLC launched a dedicated DSP Resources page on its website (TheMLC.com/dsp-resources) that includes an online form for DSPs to use to submit their Notices of License, usage reporting specifications they will need for submitting their monthly usage reports to The MLC and a calendar of key dates for them to track.

The MLC will also offer a number of key benefits for rightsholders, starting with The MLC Portal, a brand new online resource where members can review and update their existing musical works data, submit new registrations for new works and, starting later this Spring, access their royalty statements. Since beginning the roll-out of The MLC Portal in September, more than 8,000 members have been invited to set up their user accounts and member profiles in The MLC Portal, which will continue to be enhanced for even greater functionality. Prospective members who have not yet begun that process can now do so by clicking on the “Connect to Collect” button on The MLC’s website.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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