The Mechanical Licensing Collective used its Annual Membership Meeting on September 29 to announce that it will begin monthly market share distributions of remaining unclaimed accrued royalties starting in April 2027. The process, mandated under the Music Modernization Act, will first address royalties from January 2021, the earliest month digital service providers reported usage under the blanket mechanical license The MLC administers.

Under the statute, The MLC must hold unmatched and unclaimed royalties for at least three years before distributing leftover funds based on rightsholders’ relative market shares. The organization said it will distribute one month of eligible 2021 usage royalties at a time, allocated on a song-based, pro rata basis separately for each DSP and offering, meaning it will spend more than six years attempting to match royalties for each usage month before that money is distributed via market share. The MLC has published details on a Market Share page and an Unclaimed Accrued Royalties Dashboard on its website.

The MLC also reported that it has distributed more than $4.2 billion in total royalties since launching, according to the announcement, and noted the U.S. Register of Copyrights has renewed its designation as the statutory mechanical licensing collective. Members re-selected Kevin Kadish and Troy Verges as Songwriter Directors and re-elected Alisa Coleman as a Publisher Director on The MLC’s board.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by The MLC, themlc.com.

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.

BandLab Technologies has appointed Ivan Chen as Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, the company announced. Co-founder Meng Ru Kuok, who has held the CEO title since launching the company in 2015, transitions to Executive Chairman and will continue as CEO of parent company Caldecott Music Group.

Chen joined BandLab Technologies in 2016 as Chief Operating Officer and was promoted to President in 2024. According to the announcement, he has worked closely with Kuok on operations, fundraising, strategy and M&A as the company grew from its flagship BandLab platform into a portfolio that now includes Cakewalk, ReverbNation, Airbit and, as of July 2026, the AI-powered studio Aiode.

Under the new structure, Chen will oversee day-to-day operations and the company’s next phase of growth, while Kuok focuses on long-term strategy, major partnerships and investment priorities. Chen also continues as Group President of Caldecott Music Group.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Meg Banich, rockpaperscissors.biz.

Julien’s Auctions will hold a live and online sale of more than 400 items from the estate of Paul Reubens on October 28 at The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, the venue where Reubens began developing the Pee-wee Herman character in the 1970s. The auction house says the collection spans Reubens’ full career, including the gray glen plaid suit from “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” custom red Schwinn bicycles used in public appearances, production costumes and props, stop-motion puppets and claymation artwork, scripts, storyboards and signed posters.

An exhibition of highlights will run at The Groundlings Theatre from October 14 through October 28 ahead of the sale. On October 14, the venue will host a screening of episodes from “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” followed by a panel discussion on Reubens’ career, with tickets going on sale October 2 through groundlings.com.

Catherine Williamson, Julien’s managing director of entertainment, said the collection reflects Reubens’ work as a performer and writer across stage, film and television, according to the announcement.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Homage PR, homagepr.com.

The Worldwide Independent Network’s 2025-26 Annual Report, published to mark the organization’s 20th anniversary, cites the Anti-Music Fraud Task Force (AMFTF) as a proactive initiative in the fight against streaming fraud, according to the announcement. The report says WIN’s Secretariat continues to monitor AMFTF’s work alongside that of the Music Fights Fraud Alliance.

AMFTF is a volunteer-based project established by the Pakistani United Music Producer Association (PUMPA) that combines technology-assisted detection with human monitoring to flag suspicious releases, metadata patterns and potential unauthorized redistribution, sharing findings with distributors, labels and rights organizations. The same WIN report welcomes PUMPA as the network’s newest member association in Asia, one of three new associations in 2026 along with Colombia’s ALDISCO and Ukraine’s SPILNA.

AMFTF says it recently joined IFPI’s Streaming Integrity Initiative and is developing API-based infrastructure intended to let flagged releases be checked across territories more quickly. The group says it plans to engage with WIN’s Secretariat and member associations on how its reporting could support the network’s anti-fraud efforts.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Press Release, pumpa.org.pk.