The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)

What is the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)?
Should I sign up with the MLC?
When will I start seeing payments from the MLC?
Does the MLC take a cut of my royalties?
Does the MLC take the place of using CD Baby PRO publishing? No.

What is the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)?

In short, the MLC is a new collection society that collects streaming mechanical royalties in the United States.

The long version:

The MLC is a new Mechanical Rights Organization (MRO) based in the United States and designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to issue and administer the digital audio mechanical blanket license in accordance with the Music Modernization Act to Digital Service Providers (DSPs) in the United States.

The MLC is now the governing body responsible for setting statutory royalty rates, replacing the previous governing body, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Among other duties, the MLC is empowered to provide blanket licenses for streaming services. It provides a baseline structure to ensure that royalties are actually collected and distributed to rights holders. The MLC is responsible for matching those royalties to copyright holders (songwriters and publishers) and paying them out. 

The MLC has also established a publicly accessible database containing information relating to music works and their owners. You can access that database and search for your works here.

Don't worry if you have CD Baby Pro Publishing works that are registered with incorrect information or have not yet been registered. The MLC is working in collaboration with publishers (like us!) to ensure that all of the works we represent are registered with accurate metadata as quickly as possible.

It’s important to note that the MLC does not overlap, conflict, or compete with Performing Rights Organizations (PRO).

Should I sign up with the MLC?

Songwriters with publishing representation should not sign up or register their works with the MLC. If you’ve signed up for CD Baby Pro Publishing we will register your works with the MLC and collect mechanical royalties from streaming through the MLC on your behalf.

If you are distributing music through CD Baby at the Standard level, you can upgrade your submissions to Pro which will make us your publishing administrator. This way, you don’t have to worry about the hassle of signing up with a new collection society or registering your works. CD Baby will do all of this for you, and more! 

If you do not use CD Baby Pro Publishing and do not have publishing representation through another administrator like Songtrust, then you should look into signing up and registering your works with the MLC.

Please note, if some of your songs have publishing representation but others do not you can register your unpublished works with the MLC directly. To do this, you will need to create an account with the MLC, and become a member.

You can find more information on their website: https://www.themlc.com/ or in the CD Baby DIY Musician Blog

When will I start seeing payments from the MLC?

The earliest you will see payments from the MLC in your Pro Publishing royalty reports will be in the 2Q21 report, which will be posted to your account in 4Q21. 

The MLC has also been tasked with collecting and paying out historical and unmatched royalties to rights holders. We expect the 3Q21 or 4Q21 reports to be the earliest reports to include payments from historical and unmatched royalties posted to your account. These reports will be posted in 1Q22 and 2Q22.

With CD Baby Pro Publishing, you don't need to do anything to receive these royalties. They are part of the money we already collect for you. 

Does the MLC take a cut of my royalties?

No, the MLC does not take any percentage cut from the royalties they collect. The MLC is funded by the Digital Service Providers they service, and they remit 100% of the royalties they collect to copyright owners.

Does the MLC take the place of using CD Baby Pro Publishing?

No. At CD Baby, we believe that no song should go unpublished. Publishing royalties are nearly impossible to collect on your own as an independent songwriter. Even if you were to sign up directly with the MLC you would still be missing out on publishing performance and mechanical royalties from a number of sources. What does CD Baby Pro Publishing do?