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Royalty Registration & Collection

How to Collect Your The MLC Royalties

US statutory mechanical royalty administrator under the Music Modernization Act.

MROMechanicalUnclaimed
Visit The MLC →

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is the US statutory body created by the Music Modernization Act to administer mechanical royalties for digital uses of musical compositions. Every interactive stream and digital download on US DSPs generates a mechanical royalty paid through The MLC to songwriters and publishers.

The unmatched 'black-box' pool

Royalties The MLC can't match to an owner sit in its unmatched 'black-box' pool. Streaming services paid in over $424 million at launch alone, and the pool grows whenever songs aren't registered correctly.

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. Notes registers and matches your compositions with The MLC directly, so your mechanical share is identified and paid to you instead of going unclaimed. How MLC matching and claiming works →

At a glance

The MLC at a glance

Based in
United States
Pays
Quarterly
Territories
United States

How Notes works with this platform

What we do on The MLC

  • Register. Notes registers your songs (recordings or compositions) directly with The MLC so the royalties it collects in its territory are matched to you.
  • Register. ISRCs, ISWCs, IPI numbers, and split data are submitted to The MLC so payouts match the correct musician.
  • Collect. Royalties The MLC collects on your behalf are reconciled in your Notes account, with no percentage taken.

What you earn here

Royalties The MLC generates

The MLC
Distribution Broadcast Publishing Performance
  • Distribution
  • Broadcast
  • Publishing
  • Performance

The MLC collects these royalties on behalf of rightsholders. Notes registers you so the money it administers actually reaches you, in full, with no percentage taken.

How royalties reach you

The money flow through The MLC

  1. Your music playsOn Spotify, Apple Music, and other services.
  2. The MLC collectsThe MLC is the mechanical rights organization that gathers the royalties those plays generate in United States.
  3. You get paidNotes registers you with The MLC so the money it collects actually reaches you, in full, with no percentage taken.

Collect everywhere

One song. Collected worldwide. Paid to you.

Your music earns through two layers. The first is distribution — the recording's streaming and download royalties, paid directly by the platforms everywhere they play it: one delivery, collected worldwide, no society involved. The second is society collections, and that's what this map shows — every territory has its own societies gathering what's earned there: performance and mechanical on the composition, plus neighbouring rights on the recording. The highlighted territories are where Notes is registered and collecting now; Notes reconciles both layers and pays it to you, with no percentage taken — and more light up as we sign them.
AndorraUnited Arab EmiratesAlbaniaArmeniaAngolaArgentinaAustriaAustraliaAzerbaijanBosnia and HerzegovinaBarbadosBelgiumBurkina FasoBulgariaBeninBoliviaBrazilBotswanaBelarusCanadaRepublic of the CongoSwitzerlandCôte d'IvoireChileChinaColombiaCosta RicaCubaCabo VerdeCzechiaGermanyDenmarkDominican RepublicAlgeriaEcuadorEstoniaSpainFinlandFranceUnited KingdomGhanaGuineaGreeceGuatemalaHong KongHondurasCroatiaHungaryIndonesiaIrelandIsraelIndiaIcelandItalyJamaicaJapanKenyaSouth KoreaKazakhstanSaint LuciaLesothoLithuaniaLuxembourgLatviaMoroccoMoldovaMontenegroMadagascarNorth MacedoniaMaliMacauMauritiusMalawiMexicoMalaysiaMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNetherlandsNorwayNepalNew ZealandPanamaPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalParaguayRomaniaSerbiaRussiaSwedenSingaporeSloveniaSlovakiaSenegalSurinameEl SalvadorThailandTürkiyeTrinidad and TobagoTaiwanTanzaniaUkraineUgandaUnited StatesUruguayVenezuelaVietnamKosovoSouth AfricaZimbabwe
  • Collecting now
  • On the map

What a song earns

  • PerformanceComposition · PROs
  • MechanicalComposition · MROs
  • Neighbouring rightsRecording · societies like SoundExchange
  • Master recordingsPaid directly by DSPs everywhere a song streams — distribution, not a society

The map shades the society-collected layer — the part that differs by territory. Master recordings are paid worldwide through distribution, so they sit outside the map.

Distribution + collectionsMaster worldwide, societies in every territory
Notes reconcilesOne place, no percentage taken
Paid to youThe musician, in full

Collection Sources

Questions musicians ask

Common questions about The MLC

How do I know if my songs are matched at The MLC?
The MLC keeps a public works database you can search to see whether your compositions are matched. Notes registers and matches your songs directly, so the mechanical share of every US digital play is tied to you.
How do I claim unclaimed mechanical royalties?
Through The MLC's member portal and its claiming and matching tools, once your songs are registered. Notes handles the registration and matching so your share is identified and paid, with no percentage taken.
What happens to royalties The MLC can't match?
They are held as unmatched "black-box" royalties during a matching window. Beginning in early 2027, The MLC will start distributing the remaining unmatched and unclaimed blanket royalties on a pro-rata, market-share basis with statutory interest, starting with January 2021 and proceeding one month at a time. Registering and matching your songs is how your share reaches you instead.
Does Notes take a percentage?
No. Notes is a simple $5/month subscription with no percentages and no hidden fees. The mechanical royalties The MLC collects on your behalf are paid to you in full.
What royalty types does The MLC collect?
The MLC collects Mechanical royalties.
What territories does The MLC cover?
The MLC is available in United States.
How often does The MLC pay royalties?
The MLC distributes royalties quarterly.
Where is The MLC based?
The MLC is based in United States.

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