Royalty coverage
Does The MLC collect songwriter performance royalties?
Does not
Explicit: The MLC does not administer performance rights or collect performance royalties.
What this stream is. Paid when the composition is performed or broadcast. Split into a writer share and a publisher share, and those two halves can be collected by different parties.
Worth knowing about The MLC
- ★ It is genuinely FREE and takes NO commission. Its costs are funded by the DSPs through an assessment set by the Copyright Royalty Board, so 100% of collected royalties pass through. There is no financial reason not to join, and the only cost of inaction is the money itself.
- The mirror image of the PRO trap: The MLC pays no performance royalties at all.
- US ONLY. An artist with global streams who thinks MLC membership covers worldwide mechanicals is wrong.
- Registering with a DSP or a distributor does NOT trigger MLC payment. The only route is membership, or authorising a publisher or administrator to collect for you.
- ★ Unmatched royalties are held about three years, then distributed to publishers on a MARKET SHARE basis. Unregistered independent money ends up with major publishers.
Read from The MLC's own documentation on 2026-08-13. Check it yourself — and if it has changed, tell us.