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Musavise

What is The MLC and do I need it?

Royalties & publishing

The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) pays US streaming mechanical royalties to songwriters. If you write your own music and it's on Spotify or Apple Music, you need an MLC membership — your PRO does not collect these.

Mechanicals are the royalty stream most independent writers miss, because it's newer (2021) and the name sounds like it's someone else's job. It isn't: no MLC membership means your streaming mechanicals sit unclaimed and are eventually redistributed.

Membership is free. Register once, register your songs, and the stream turns on — including some retroactive collection. A publishing administrator can handle this for you (plus worldwide equivalents), which matters once your catalog earns internationally.

Audit your royalty setup →Get connected with a publishing admin →

Related questions

Do I need a publishing administrator? →What royalties am I missing as an independent artist? →

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