MLC will oversee collection of digital royalties for songwriters
By Preshias Harris
U.S.-based songwriters have a new champion in their corner. In July, the U.S. Copyright Office chose the industry-consensus Mechanical Licensing Collective, or MLC, to be the new agency to oversee licensing of digital mechanical royalties for American songwriters.
“The cost of collecting our royalties is, for the first time, paid for by the streaming companies instead of being deducted from our songwriter earnings.” – Steve Bogard, President, NSAI
As digital distribution of music grows and CD sales decline, songwriters have found it increasingly difficult to track royalties that are rightfully theirs. The Music Modernization Act (MMA) became law in October 2018 and set in motion the process to appoint an entity to oversee licensing of digital royalties.
Prior to the adoption of the Music Modernization Act, streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music themselves were responsible for identifying copyright owners and paying royalties. However, in many instances, streaming companies were using songs without proper licenses. In such cases, music publishers and songwriters had to resort to costly lawsuits or simply give up the fight. Now, the MLC will be charged with identifying songwriters and copyright owners and paying them royalties when their songs are played on a music streaming service.
Strong approval from songwriters
The selection of MLC to administrate this agency has met with strong approval from the songwriting community. The Collective was spearheaded by the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and the Songwriters of North America (SONA). The MLC was endorsed by nearly the entire American music industry when it submitted its application to the U.S. Copyright Office earlier this year.
More good news for songwriters: The operational costs of the MLC will be paid for by digital music providers, not by songwriters. The MLC will focus exclusively on licensing digital mechanical royalties. Performing Rights Organizations, such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, will continue to oversee collection of songwriter and publisher royalties from public performance including radio airplay.
“Songwriters have looked forward to this incredible advance in music licensing for years,” stated Steve Bogard, President of NSAI in a media release. “The MLC creates a number of historic gains for American songwriters. These gains include, for the first time, our participation in the governance of a mechanical rights agency on both board and committee levels.
“We are, for the first time, guaranteed an activity-based share of unclaimed funds. And the cost of collecting our royalties is, for the first time, paid for by the streaming companies instead of being deducted from our songwriter earnings.”
“NSAI is very proud of our role in crafting guarantees for songwriter inclusion in the MLC governance, stipulating the payment methodology for unclaimed funds and mandating transparency. These things were all achieved as part of the Music Modernization Act. These landmark accomplishments also included heading up the national selection process for MLC songwriter board and committee members,” Bogard continued.
Licensing tens of millions of songs
Now the MLC will set about the business of hiring a staff and preparing to ensure the new collective can efficiently license tens of millions of songs by January 1, 2021. For a listing and background bios of all the board members of MLC, read this article from Variety here.
Billboard published an in-depth analysis of why The U.S. Copyright Office chose the Mechanical Licensing Collective over the rival proposal from American Music Licensing Collective. You can read the Billboard article here.
Catch up with NSAI here and SONA here. More information from the U.S. Copyright Office about the landmark Music Modernization Act here.
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com