With the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) in the United States in October 2018, the US music industry is changing how it licenses digital music to make sure that copyright owners (including songwriters, composers, lyricists and publishers) get royalties.
In January 2021, a new nonprofit organisation – The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) – will begin to administer blanket mechanical licences for eligible interactive audio streaming and download services (Digital Service Providers or DSPs) in the United States.
Mechanical licences give permissions to reproduce and distribute musical works that are embedded in sound recordings. The MLC will also collect the royalties due under those licences from DSPs, including YouTube, and pay copyright owners.
YouTube and the DSP community (represented by the nonprofit Digital Licensee Coordinator or 'DLC') are committed to the success of the Music Modernization Act (MMA)'s implementation and the MLC. From fully funding the MLC's operations to working collaboratively with the organisation on data and reporting, DSPs are playing a critical role in the MMA's implementation. The MLC and the DLC share a common goal to deliver royalties accurately and on time to copyright owners.
With this change comes new responsibilities for everyone in the music community to make sure that their copyright ownership data is organised and up to date. The MLC is building a database of copyright ownership info called The MLC Portal. Copyright owners are encouraged to visit the MLC site to learn how the MLC process works, see answers to frequently asked questions, sign up for updates and more.