The short answer
The MLC is the nonprofit body that collects mechanical royalties from streaming and download services in the United States and pays them to whoever registered the songs. If you own or control your own songs and no publisher or administrator registers them for you, you should register. Joining is free, and non-US writers are usually accepted.
What The MLC is
The Mechanical Licensing Collective, usually written The MLC, was created by the Music Modernization Act of 2018 and designated by the US Copyright Office. It has operated since January 2021. Its job is narrow and important: it administers the blanket mechanical licence that streaming and download services use in the United States, collects the mechanical royalties those services owe, matches them to songs, and pays the songwriters and publishers who hold the rights.
It is funded by the services themselves through an administrative assessment, so nothing is deducted from the royalties it distributes, and membership is free. It does not handle performance royalties, which still go through performing rights organisations, and it does not cover mechanical income earned outside the United States.
How US mechanical royalties flow
Before 2021 each service had to find and license every song itself, and much of the money never found its owners. The blanket licence replaced that with one path.
Mechanical royalties in the United States are paid on the publisher side of the song. A writer who has a publisher is paid by that publisher; a self-published writer who registers directly receives the full mechanical royalty for their share. Performance royalties for the same streams are paid separately by your PRO.
- The service reports every stream and download and pays the royalties to The MLC
- The MLC matches each recording to a registered work using the ISRC, ISWC, titles and writer names
- Registered owners are paid monthly, with a statement showing usage per song
- Royalties that match no registration are held in an unmatched pool
Who should register, and who should not
Register if you are a songwriter who controls your own publishing, a small publisher, or an administrator acting for writers. Do not register a song that your publisher or administrator already registers for you; two registrations for the same share create a conflict, and the money is held until it is resolved. Ask your administrator in writing whether they cover The MLC before you create an account.
Members of a collecting society outside the United States should check whether their society has an agreement with The MLC. Where it does, the society may already collect your US mechanicals and direct membership is unnecessary. Where it does not, direct membership or an administrator is usually the answer. This varies by country; confirm rather than assume.
What a non-US artist can do
Membership is open to anyone who holds US mechanical rights in a song, wherever they live. A direct member outside the United States usually needs a US tax form for non-residents, bank details that can receive US dollar payments, and the ordinary identity information any payment platform asks for. Payments and statements then come to you directly.
The alternatives are your local society, if it has the agreement described above, or a publishing administrator that registers your songs with The MLC alongside the rest of the world. Each route pays the same royalties; what differs is who does the administration and what they keep for it, as set out in their agreement. Choose one route per song.
Registering well
Matching is only as good as the data. Before you register, gather the song title, every writer's legal name and IPI number from their PRO, the shares, the publisher if any, the ISWC if your society issued one, and the ISRC of every recording of the song. Your distributor provides the ISRCs; at Mazufa Records the terms are simple: no upload fee, no subscription, no per-release fee; the revenue share is set out in your written agreement, and your codes are shown in your dashboard.
Search The MLC's public database before adding a work. If your song is already there, claim your share of the existing entry instead of creating a duplicate. After registering, check your statements and the unmatched royalties tool now and then: recordings released before you registered usually have royalties waiting.
Questions people ask
Does The MLC also pay my performance royalties?
No. The MLC pays only US mechanical royalties from streaming and downloads. Performance royalties for radio, venues and the performance part of streaming come from your performing rights organisation, which is a separate registration.
I live outside the United States. Will The MLC really pay me?
Usually yes. You can join directly with a non-resident tax form and US dollar bank details, or receive the money through your local society if it has an agreement with The MLC, or through a publishing administrator. Pick one route per song.
My song is in The MLC database under another name. What now?
Check first whether a publisher or administrator registered it on your behalf, which is normal. If nobody did, use the dispute process and attach evidence such as your distribution dashboard, PRO registration and any split agreement.