What does The MLC collect?

US mechanical royalties on the composition for interactive streams and downloads, under the Music Modernization Act. It doesn't handle the recording side (that's your distributor) or public-performance royalties (that's your PRO).

Does my distributor register me with The MLC?

Usually not. Distributors typically cover only the recording side. The mechanical (composition) side needs its own registration with The MLC. Notes handles both.

How do I check if my songs are matched at The MLC?

Search The MLC's public works database, or its member portal once you're a member. If a work isn't matched to you, you can claim it. Notes registers and matches your catalog so this is handled for you.

What happens to unmatched MLC royalties in 2027?

Beginning in early 2027, The MLC starts distributing its remaining unmatched and unclaimed blanket royalties (from January 2021 onward, one month at a time) on a pro-rata, market-share basis with statutory interest. Matching your works beforehand is how your share is paid to you.

How long does matching take?

Once your compositions are registered, The MLC identifies and matches royalties to them over the following months. A catalog review surfaces what's still unmatched so it can be claimed.

Does Notes take a percentage?

No. Notes is a flat subscription, so the mechanical royalties The MLC collects on your behalf are paid to you in full.

Organizations & Societies

The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective)

The MLC collects mechanical royalties for songwriters and publishers when songs are streamed or downloaded in the US.

Where this sits

Distribution Broadcast Publishing Performance

Distribution
Broadcast
Publishing
Performance

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The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is the US non-profit created by the Music Modernization Act to collect mechanical royalties (the composition-side money owed every time a song is streamed or downloaded) and pay them to the songwriters and publishers who own the work. Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and the other US digital services pay their mechanical royalties into The MLC, which then has to match each payment to the right composition and its owners.

What The MLC collects

It administers the US blanket mechanical license for interactive streaming and downloads. That's the mechanical royalty on the composition (the reproduction right), not the recording side (your distributor collects that) and not public-performance royalties (your PRO collects those). A single stream usually pays into all three; The MLC is the mechanical piece.

How matching works

The MLC can only pay a royalty once it's matched to a registered work and its owners. Matching runs on your data: the ISWC on the composition, each writer's and publisher's IPI, and accurate splits. When that's registered and correct, the money flows to you; when it's missing or wrong, the payment can't be matched and is held back. The MLC keeps a public works database anyone can search, plus a member portal with claiming and matching tools, so you can check whether a song is matched to you and claim it if it isn't.

The unmatched 'black-box' pool

Royalties The MLC can't match pile up as unmatched (or 'black-box') income. Streaming services transferred over $424 million in accrued unmatched mechanicals to The MLC at its 2021 launch alone, and the pool keeps growing whenever works aren't registered correctly. See MLC unclaimed royalties for how to claim your share.

The 2027 distribution

Beginning in early 2027, The MLC will start distributing its remaining unmatched and unclaimed blanket royalties on a pro-rata, market-share basis (starting with January 2021 and proceeding one month at a time, with statutory interest) at the close of its six-year matching window. Royalties matched to your works are paid to you; whatever stays unmatched is distributed by market share instead.

How to make sure you're paid

Register your compositions with The MLC, with correct ISWCs, IPI numbers, and splits.
Search the public database for works that aren't matched to you, and claim them.
Keep credits and splits up to date as catalogs and collaborators change.

Notes does this for you: it registers and matches your catalog with The MLC, then reconciles what it pays so your mechanical share actually lands. Run a free royalty review to see what's unclaimed.

Common mistakes

Assuming your distributor registers you with The MLC; most cover only the recording side.
Leaving works without an ISWC, or with missing co-writer splits, so they can't be matched.
Never claiming older works whose royalties are already sitting in the unmatched pool.

Read the full guide on Notes Help →Deep dive on Credits.fm →

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