Notes · US mechanicals
MLC Royalties
The MLC administers US streaming and download mechanicals. Notes registers your compositions with The MLC so those royalties can be matched to you. Notes does not take a percentage.
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 when a song is streamed or downloaded in the US — and pay songwriters and publishers. Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and other US digital services pay those mechanicals into The MLC, which matches each payment to a registered work.
Best for Notes. Songwriters and publishers who need US mechanicals matched at The MLC alongside distribution and PRO registration.
Start for FreeNotes
How Notes collects this
Notes registers compositions with The MLC with ISWCs, IPI numbers, and splits, then reconciles what The MLC pays. Register and match your catalog so you receive what you're owed. Notes does not take a percentage of MLC royalties.
The two pools
Where this sits on the royalty ring
- Distribution
- Broadcast
- Publishing
- Performance
Each arc is a /learn royalty type. The ring is the same chart as the glossary hub.
By platform type
Which royalties a play can earn
| Platform type | Recording | Mechanical | Performance | Neighboring | Sync |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music) | ● | ● | ● | — | — |
| Non-interactive radio (Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio) | ● | — | ● | ● | — |
| Download / DJ stores (Bandcamp, Beatport) | ● | ● | — | — | — |
| Short-form & social (TikTok, Meta, Snap) | ● | ● | ● | — | ● |
| Fitness, sync & background (Peloton) | ● | — | ● | — | ● |
| Karaoke & sing-along (Singa, WeSing) | — | ● | ● | — | ● |
Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music) pays recording, mechanical, and performance royalties, not neighboring rights, which come from non-interactive radio via SoundExchange. Karaoke also generates a print (lyric) royalty not shown above. ROXi-style on-demand music-video and karaoke TV is audiovisual, so it leans on sync and master-use licensing rather than the statutory mechanical.
Questions
FAQ
- What are MLC royalties?
- MLC royalties are US mechanical royalties The MLC administers for interactive streams and digital downloads of compositions. They are the songwriting-side mechanical, not the recording royalty your distributor collects.
- Does my distributor register me with The MLC?
- Most distribution only covers the recording. The MLC pays the composition. Notes registers both sides so the mechanical half of a US stream can be matched to you.
- Does Notes take a percentage of MLC royalties?
- No. Notes is a flat subscription. Mechanical royalties The MLC pays are collected without a Notes percentage.
Built on the record
Sources
Notes is an independent music distribution and publishing administration service. Named platforms and collection societies are independent organizations. This page is not affiliated with, authorized by, or sponsored by them. Apple and Apple Music are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Spotify, YouTube, The MLC, Harry Fox Agency, SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI, and other named platforms and societies are trademarks of their respective owners. Notes is not affiliated with, authorized by, or sponsored by them.