The MLC — the Mechanical Licensing Collective — exists because Congress passed the Music Modernization Act in 2018. Before it, streaming services were supposed to find every songwriter and pay mechanical royalties directly, and they were terrible at it. Now there’s one blanket license: the services pay the MLC, and the MLC pays whoever registered the songs. If you write songs that stream in the US, this is your money pipeline for mechanicals.
Registration is free at themlc.com, and you need two accounts: one as a songwriter, one as a publisher — even if you’re self-published. That’s the part most indies skip. If you only register as a writer, you collect only the writer’s share and the publisher’s share sits unclaimed. Enter every song with exact titles, all co-writer splits, ISRCs from your distributor, and ISWCs if you have them. Bad metadata is the number one reason money goes missing.
Here’s the urgency: the MLC holds unmatched royalties for three years, then distributes that black-box money to publishers by market share — meaning the majors. Your unclaimed dollars literally become their bonus. Search the MLC’s unmatched works portal for your titles and claim them. Then check quarterly: the MLC pays monthly, and new matches can surface as data improves.
Know what the MLC does not do. It only handles US mechanicals from on-demand streaming — not performance royalties (that’s your PRO), not sync, not physical sales or downloads (that’s still Harry Fox territory), and not anything outside the US. Think of it as one specialized faucet. Turn it on by registering completely, keep your catalog data clean, and stop leaving your publisher’s share on the table.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.