What Is the MLC?
The Mechanical Licensing Collective is a US nonprofit that collects and distributes mechanical royalties from streaming services to songwriters and publishers.
Quick answer — The MLC was created by the Music Modernization Act (2018) to serve as the central hub for mechanical royalty collection from digital streaming in the United States. It launched in January 2021.
Search MLC dataWhat are mechanical royalties?
Before understanding the MLC, you need to understand what it collects. A mechanical royalty is a payment owed to songwriters and publishers every time their composition is reproduced. Historically, this meant physical copies — CDs, vinyl records, cassettes. Today, it includes every single stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, and other interactive digital services.
Every time someone presses play on a song, two separate royalties are generated:
| Royalty type | Paid to | Collected by |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical royalty | Songwriters and publishers | The MLC (for US streaming) |
| Performance royalty | Songwriters and publishers | PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) |
| Master royalty | Artists and record labels | Distributors / labels |
The MLC only handles the first type — mechanical royalties from interactive streaming. Performance royalties and master royalties flow through separate channels.
Why was the MLC created?
Before the MLC, collecting mechanical royalties from streaming was a mess. Under the old system, streaming services like Spotify were supposed to obtain a mechanical license for every song in their catalog — one at a time, from each individual publisher or administrator. With catalogs of tens of millions of songs, this was practically impossible.
The result was widespread failure to pay. Spotify, for example, settled a $112.5 million class-action lawsuit in 2017 over unpaid mechanical royalties. Other services faced similar problems. Songwriters were losing money not because anyone was trying to cheat them, but because the system for identifying who owned what and paying them was fundamentally broken.
Congress addressed this with the Music Modernization Act (MMA), signed into law in October 2018. The MMA created a new licensing framework with three key elements:
- A blanket license — Instead of licensing each song individually, streaming services pay into a single blanket license that covers their entire catalog.
- A central collective — The MLC was designated as the nonprofit organization responsible for administering this blanket license, collecting royalties from streaming services, matching recordings to compositions, and distributing payments to songwriters and publishers.
- A public database — The MLC was required to build and maintain a public database of musical works and their ownership, making this information transparent for the first time.
The MLC officially launched on January 1, 2021, and immediately began processing royalties from all major streaming services operating in the US.
How the MLC works
Here is the simplified flow of how mechanical royalties move from a stream to a songwriter's pocket:
Streaming services report usage
Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other services send the MLC detailed reports of every stream, including the ISRC of each recording played.
The MLC matches recordings to compositions
Using the ISRC, the MLC tries to match each streamed recording to the underlying musical composition (identified by an ISWC) and its registered songwriters and publishers.
Royalties are calculated
The MLC calculates how much each songwriter and publisher is owed based on the number of streams, the royalty rate, and each party's ownership share of the composition.
Payments are distributed
Registered songwriters and publishers receive their royalties via monthly distributions from the MLC.
The matching problem
The most critical challenge the MLC faces is matching — linking a sound recording (identified by an ISRC) to its underlying musical composition and the songwriters who own it.
This sounds simple but is enormously difficult in practice. There are tens of millions of recordings on streaming platforms, and the metadata connecting recordings to compositions is often incomplete, inconsistent, or missing entirely. A song might be titled slightly differently across platforms, a songwriter might use different name spellings, or the composition might never have been formally registered.
When the MLC cannot find a match, the recording is classified as unmatched. The royalties for unmatched recordings are held in a pool. The MLC works to resolve these matches over time, but millions of recordings remain unmatched, representing significant uncollected royalties for songwriters.
What songwriters can do: Register your works with the MLC at themlc.com (it is free). Provide accurate metadata including ISRCs, ISWCs, and your IPI code. The more information you provide, the easier it is for the MLC to match your recordings and pay you.
Matched vs. unmatched: what it means for you
| Status | What it means | Royalty impact |
|---|---|---|
| Matched | The recording has been linked to its composition and songwriters in the MLC database | Royalties flow to registered rights holders each month |
| Unmatched | The MLC has not yet linked the recording to a composition | Royalties are held in escrow until a match is found or the holding period expires |
You can check whether a specific recording is matched or unmatched by looking it up on Credits.fm. The ISRC detail page shows the match status when available.
How Credits.fm helps
Credits.fm provides free, open access to the MLC's public ownership data. You can use it to:
- Check if your songs are matched — Search by ISRC, song title, or artist name to see whether the MLC has linked your recordings to their compositions.
- View songwriter credits — See the full ownership breakdown for any matched song, including all credited songwriters, their roles, share percentages, and publisher chains.
- Look up IPI codes — Find the IPI code for any songwriter or publisher in the database, which you need for registering works with PROs and the MLC.
- Explore ISWC connections — See which ISWC (musical work code) is associated with a recording, and which recordings share the same composition.
- Verify metadata accuracy — Compare the credits shown on Credits.fm with your own records to catch errors before they affect your royalties.
Key dates in MLC history
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 2018 | Music Modernization Act signed into law |
| July 2019 | The MLC designated by the Copyright Office as the mechanical licensing collective |
| January 2021 | MLC begins operations; blanket license takes effect |
| April 2021 | First royalty distributions made to registered rights holders |
| Ongoing | MLC continues to match unmatched recordings and improve its database |
MLC vs. PROs vs. distributors
One of the most common points of confusion for songwriters is understanding which organizations collect which royalties. Here is a clear breakdown:
| Organization | Collects | Pays | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| The MLC | Mechanical royalties from US streaming | Songwriters and publishers | The MLC |
| PROs | Performance royalties (radio, TV, streaming, live) | Songwriters and publishers | ASCAP, BMI, SESAC |
| Distributors | Master recording royalties from streaming | Artists and labels | DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby |
| SoundExchange | Digital performance royalties (non-interactive streaming) | Artists and labels | SoundExchange |
If you are both a songwriter and a performing artist, you should be registered with the MLC, a PRO, a distributor, and potentially SoundExchange to collect all royalty types.
Frequently asked questions
What does MLC stand for?
MLC stands for the Mechanical Licensing Collective. It is a US nonprofit organization designated by the Copyright Office to administer the blanket mechanical license for digital streaming services.
Do I need to register with the MLC?
If you are a songwriter or publisher and want to collect your mechanical royalties from streaming in the US, yes. Registration is free at themlc.com. Once registered, you can claim your works and start receiving royalty distributions.
How often does the MLC distribute royalties?
The MLC distributes mechanical royalties on a monthly basis to rights holders who have registered and claimed their works. The distribution cycle typically runs a few months behind — for example, royalties for streams in January are usually distributed in April or May.
What is the difference between mechanical royalties and performance royalties?
Mechanical royalties are paid each time a composition is reproduced — including every stream. Performance royalties are paid when music is performed publicly — on radio, TV, in venues, or via streaming. Yes, streaming generates both types. The MLC handles mechanical royalties; PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) handle performance royalties.
What happens to unmatched royalties?
When the MLC cannot match a sound recording to its underlying composition, the royalties are held in an "unmatched" pool. The MLC is required to make efforts to find the rights holders. After a holding period, unclaimed royalties may be distributed to known rights holders on a market-share basis, as prescribed by the Music Modernization Act.
Does the MLC operate outside the United States?
No. The MLC only administers mechanical royalties for interactive streaming in the US market. Other countries have their own collection societies — for example, MCPS in the UK, GEMA in Germany, and SACEM in France. If your music is streamed internationally, you need representation in each territory.
Can I look up my songs in the MLC database?
Yes. You can search the MLC's public data on Credits.fm by song title, artist name, or ISRC code. The detail page will show whether a recording has been matched to its composition, who the credited songwriters are, and which publishers are involved.
Is the MLC the same as a PRO?
No. The MLC collects mechanical royalties from streaming services. PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) collect performance royalties from radio, TV, live venues, and streaming. Songwriters typically need to register with both the MLC and a PRO to collect all royalties owed to them from streaming.
Try it yourself
Look up real songs in the MLC database to see songwriter credits and match status:
Key terms
- Mechanical royalty
- A payment made to songwriters and publishers each time their composition is reproduced — including every stream on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other digital service. In the US, the MLC collects mechanical royalties from interactive streaming.
- Blanket license
- A single license that gives a streaming service the right to use every composition in the MLC's database, instead of requiring separate licenses for each song. Streaming services pay royalties into this blanket license, and the MLC distributes them to rights holders.
- Music Modernization Act (MMA)
- A US federal law signed in October 2018 that reformed music licensing. It created the MLC, established the blanket mechanical license for streaming, and extended federal copyright protection to pre-1972 sound recordings.
- Unmatched works
- Recordings in the MLC database that have not yet been linked to their underlying compositions and songwriter ownership. Royalties for unmatched works are held until a match is found or the statutory holding period expires.
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