Music Law Terms

From ASCAP newsletters

Mechanical Royalties

Payments/compensation made to songwriters and publishers every time a musical composition is reproduced, whether through physical copies (like vinyl and CDs) or digital uses (like interactive streaming and downloads)

(Separate from master recording royalties which go to the performers or label)

Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)

The MLC is a nonprofit organization created to collect and distribute digital mechanical royalties in the US. The MLC collects royalties, pays songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers, and operates a public musical works database and a member portal to track ownership data.

Established under the Music Modernization Act of 2018 (and began fully operating on January 2021)

Fully funded by digital service providers (DSPs), meaning operational costs are not taken from songwriter royalties

digital service providers (DSPs)

An online platform or streaming service that distributes, sells, or streams digital music and albums (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music)

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