Royalties
Mechanical Royalties
Mechanical royalties are paid to songwriters and publishers each time a composition is reproduced, including every interactive stream and download.
Where this sits
Mechanical Royalties
- Distribution
- Broadcast
- Publishing
- Performance
A mechanical royalty is paid to songwriters and publishers each time a composition is reproduced. The name is historical (it once meant pressing a song onto vinyl or a CD), but today a mechanical is generated every time a song is streamed or downloaded. It's one of the two halves of publishing royalties, the other being performance.
Good to know
Mechanical Royalties: common questions
- Who collects mechanical royalties in the US?
- The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) administers streaming mechanicals in the US under the Music Modernization Act.
- Why do mechanicals go unclaimed?
- When a composition is missing an ISWC or correct registration, the collector can't match the royalty to its owner, so it sits as unmatched income. Notes fills those gaps.
- The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective)Organizations & Societies
- Performance RoyaltiesRoyalties
- Publishing RoyaltiesRoyalties
- Cover SongsReuse & Derivatives
Mechanical RoyaltiesHover a connected term to see how it relates.
