The Harry Fox Agency and the MLC both deal in mechanical royalties, and mixing them up is how songs go unpaid. Here’s the clean split: the MLC handles one thing — mechanical royalties from on-demand streaming in the United States under the blanket license created by the Music Modernization Act. Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited: the services pay the MLC, the MLC pays registered songwriters and publishers. That’s its entire job.
Harry Fox handles nearly everything else in the mechanical world. Physical product — CDs, vinyl — still runs through HFA licensing. Permanent downloads run through HFA. Ringtones, karaoke, and various specialty licenses: HFA. It also offers Songfile for small-batch licensing and works internationally through partnerships. If it’s a mechanical royalty that isn’t US interactive streaming, HFA is probably in the chain somewhere.
So which registrations do you need? If your songs stream in the US, register with the MLC — songwriter account and publisher account, both, even self-published. If you have physical product or downloads moving, make sure HFA (or your publisher, who likely uses HFA) has your catalog. Many indie publishers administer through HFA, which means signing with the right admin publisher can cover your HFA side automatically — one less portal to manage.
The overlap confusion usually comes from history: before 2021, HFA handled streaming mechanicals too, and plenty of old articles still say so. Update your mental model. MLC equals US streaming mechanicals, period. HFA equals physical, downloads, and specialty mechanical licensing. Register in both systems where applicable, keep your catalog data identical across them, and stop letting format confusion eat your money.
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.