The Mechanical Licensing Collective used its Annual Membership Meeting on September 29 to disclose that it has distributed more than $4.2 billion in total royalties since beginning operations, and to set April 2027 as the start date for its first monthly market share distributions of remaining unclaimed accrued royalties.
Under the Music Modernization Act, The MLC must hold and attempt to match unclaimed accrued royalties for at least three years before distributing any remainder to rightsholders based on relative market share. The organization said it will begin that process with royalties tied to January 2021 usage, the first month digital service providers reported under the blanket mechanical license, and will proceed one usage month at a time in subsequent years. Each monthly distribution will allocate remaining funds on a song-based, pro rata basis, separated by DSP and service offering, according to the announcement.
The MLC also reported it has distributed nearly $239 million in historical royalties, which it says represents more than 60% of historical unmatched funds transferred to it by DSPs. The meeting additionally included board updates: Kevin Kadish and Troy Verges were re-selected as Songwriter Directors and Alisa Coleman was re-elected as a Publisher Director. The organization pointed to its continued designation by the U.S. Register of Copyrights as the statutory mechanical licensing collective as a milestone from its first five years of operation.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by The MLC, themlc.com.