Royalty coverage
Does The MLC collect YouTube publishing royalties?
Partly
YouTube MUSIC, the interactive audio service, is covered by the blanket licence. Standard YouTube video, UGC, TikTok and Facebook reproduction royalties are NOT, and need a publishing administrator.
What this stream is. The composition side of YouTube revenue, distinct from the recording side above.
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.