Clockwise from top-left: Daryl Friedman, Kris Ahrend, Tayla Parx
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5 Key Quotes From The Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar

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With the forthcoming changes to the digital mechanical royalties landscape happening in 2021, the Recording Academy hosted a special webinar to explain how the MLC will benefit creators
John Ochoa
Advocacy
Nov 12, 2020 - 1:57 pm

Once 2021 rolls in, creators and songwriters in the U.S. will face a new and improved playing field when it comes to digital mechanical royalties. That's all thanks to the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), a new entity that will administer a new blanket mechanical license for streaming and download services starting Jan. 1, 2021. 

Established under the game-changing Music Modernization Act (MMA), which President Trump signed into law in 2018, the MLC will administer a more efficient payment system that will better identify, match and distribute unclaimed songwriter and publisher royalties and, with the help of the Recording Academy and the U.S. Copyright Office, will assist in songwriter outreach. This all means creators will get paid what they are rightfully owed in a fairly and timely manner under the new MLC system.

To address questions about how it will work, the Academy's Advocacy team hosted a special webinar this week (Nov. 9) to explain exactly what the MLC is—and what it's not—and how it'll benefit creators across the globe.

Moderated by the Recording Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer Daryl Friedman, with opening remarks from Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr., the webinar invited MLC CEO Kris Ahrend to dive deep into the mechanics behind the forthcoming opportunities and benefits under the MLC. Special guest Tayla Parx, the celebrated songwriter and GRAMMY nominee ("Thank U, Next," "High Hopes" and "Love Lies"), also joined the conversation to offer her real-life experiences and advice to the Recording Academy members who attended the webinar. 

To recap the informative conversation, here are five key quotes from Advocacy's Mechanical Licensing Collective webinar.

Recording Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer Daryl Friedman (L) and MLC CEO Kris Ahrend (R)

Recording Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer Daryl Friedman (L) and MLC CEO Kris Ahrend (R)

"We live in a global world where music does not remain within boundaries."

First things first: As noted on its website, the MLC will only "issue and administer blanket mechanical licenses for eligible streaming and download services (digital service providers or DSPs) in the United States." That means if you're a creator based in the U.S. and one of your songs gets streamed on Spotify in Japan or sold on Amazon Music in the U.K., the MLC will not administer licenses covering ex-U.S. uses of any kind. 

However, the MLC will indeed benefit international creators. 

"We collect and distribute those digital audio mechanicals that are paid pursuant to that new blanket license," Ahrend explained. "And then here's the key: We pay the person entitled to receive those mechanicals wherever in the world they are. While the blanket license is only available to digital services for their U.S. operations, as all of you know, we live in a global world where music does not remain within boundaries."

"Don't assume the MLC replaces any existing organization that pays you."

While the above example sounds easy enough, the breakdown of the different types of licensing and synchronization rights and publishing and mechanical royalties available across the wider music business can often feel overwhelming. That's why it's very important to understand what the MLC does and does not do.

Simply put, the MLC will focus exclusively on digital mechanical royalties. It will not administer performance royalties for songwriters, digital performance royalties for sound recording owners and performers, licenses covering audiovisual uses (syncs) or mechanical licenses for physical products. To cover all of these different types of income sources, creators should continue to work with their respective royalty agencies and performance rights organizations (PROs) like SoundExchange, Songtrust, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR and others.

Ultimately, Ahrend said, the MLC will be a complementary income source to the ccollective rights organizations and PROs you already have on your team: "All of those organizations exist because the way that the laws behind music are set up is complicated. But the most important takeaway, I think, for anyone watching is: Don't assume that the MLC replaces any existing organization that pays you," Ahrend said.

"If you're confused by this, you are in the vast majority."

Both Tayla Parx and the MLC's Ahrend will be the first to tell you that navigating the complex world of royalties, rights and syncs is not an easy task. 

"If you're confused by this, you are in the vast majority," Ahrend said. "This is not easy, and you should keep pushing to understand because it is important, it is worth it. It's your business, it's the thing that will hopefully enable you to continue to be a creator for the rest of your life. We want to try to simplify as much of it as we can, and certainly our piece."

Luckily for creators, the MLC will offer its forthcoming, user-friendly MLC Portal, which will allow creators to enter their data, check their data for accuracy and completeness, register new musical works and identify new sound recordings that feature their works, according to the MLC website.

Clockwise from top-left: Daryl Friedman, Kris Ahrend, Tayla Parx

Clockwise from top-left: Recording Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer Daryl Friedman, MLC CEO Kris Ahrend,  GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Tayla Parx

"The most important thing we value is our time."

From independent songwriters and creators to major publishing houses to music publishing rights companies like Songtrust, the MLC will service the entire U.S. music industry. 

Self-administered songwriters, composers, and lyricists will be able to easily navigate the MLC Portal on their own, but Ahrend also acknowledges the value of publishers and related agencies that can handle the data process and manage administrative royalty tasks on behalf of creators.

"We have designed everything we're doing to be as user-friendly as possible such that you can do this with us if you choose. But that said, there are a myriad of companies out there that offer really valuable services," Ahrend said. 

"At some point in your career, and this is true of all of us in life, the most important thing we value is our time," he continued. "So when you think about whether you can do this yourself, it's really a question of time. Is that time that you have and want to spend doing it?"

Adds Parx, "It's all about how much time you feel like you're willing to take away from it, and that goes down to how much you value your time in the studio or being creative. But I like that it gives you an option."

"You matter, and we want to make sure that you get paid properly."

While many artists operate independently or with small teams, creators of all sizes and scope will be able to benefit from the new MLC payment system, so long as you're registered with the MLC Portal. Sure, unlocking the world of royalties is no easy task. But the MLC is here to help everyone, from independent creators to publishing corporations across the U.S., no matter the size of your team. 

Regardless of your setup, Ahrend highly recommends that all self-administered songwriters "in any respect," meaning "for any of your works," join the MLC to ensure the organization can administer the mechanicals you're owed on all the works you administer for yourself. 

"We are here. We will deal with you in the same way that we deal with the largest publishers, the largest CMOs outside the U.S., the largest administrators," Ahrend said of self-administered creators. "You matter, and we want to make sure that you get paid properly."

Missed the program or want to watch it again? View the full webinar on the Recording Academy's Facebook page.

Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar: 5 Things To Know About The MLC

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Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar: 5 Things To Know About The MLC

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Ahead of the Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar next week, we've put together a helpful list of the five things you need to know about the MLC
John Ochoa
Advocacy
Nov 6, 2020 - 2:31 pm

At the top of 2021, creators across the nationwide music community will begin to receive more accurate, timely and transparent royalty payments thanks to the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), an entity in charge of administering a new blanket mechanical license for streaming and download services. Established under the groundbreaking Music Modernization Act (MMA), which celebrated its second anniversary in October, the MLC will collect mechanical royalties from the streaming services and distribute them to songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers.

The Recording Academy understands the importance of the MLC to creators and is here to help our members receive the songwriter royalties they are entitled to from digital streaming services. 

That's why we've put together a special webinar to address questions and concerns. Taking place Monday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. PT/3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET, Mechanical Licensing Collective CEO Kris Ahrend, hit songwriter and GRAMMY nominee Tayla Parx ("Thank U, Next," "High Hopes," "Love Lies"), producer/songwriter and Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. and the Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer Daryl Friedman will engage in an informative conversation on the MLC. 

Attending Recording Academy members will also have the opportunity to submit questions to be answered by the expert panel. Submit your questions in advance and register for the webinar 

Ahead of the Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar next week, we've put together a helpful list of the five things you need to know about the MLC.

How Was It Created?

Putting music creators first, the MLC is one of the most significant accomplishments of the MMA, the monumental bill signed into law by President Trump on Oct. 11, 2018. Since then, the MMA has ushered in a new era of fair compensation for music makers, with some of the bill's reforms already benefitting music creators.

The Recording Academy, with the help of its thousands of members, played an integral role in the creation and passage of the law.  

And the Recording Academy was instrumental in guiding the designation of the MLC, filing filed comments with the U.S. Copyright Office that called for additional information regarding accurate data matching and songwriter outreach to ensure every songwriter is properly paid for their work. 

The Copyright Office ultimately designated the Mechanical Licensing Collective, Inc. (MLCI)  as the overseeing entity managing the new blanket mechanical license and handling the royalty collection and distribution. 

In making the designation, the Copyright Office recognized the Recording Academy's helpful input throughout the decision-making process, commending the Academy's thorough analysis of both proposals and fairly recommending the best proposition to the Copyright Office. 

Who Leads the Collective?

Operating as a nonprofit, the MLC is funded by the major streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Amazon Music, among others, which collectively granted $62 million in startup capital to the collective. 

With a staff of 40, the MLC is led by CEO Kris Ahrend, a highly experienced music industry executive who'll spearhead the Recording Academy's MLC webinar next week. 

As a Creator, How Will I Benefit?

Starting January 1, 2021, the MLC will administer a more efficient system that will ensure that all creators will get paid fairly and timely. Under the MLC, the new payment system will better identify, match and distribute unclaimed songwriter and publisher royalties and, with the help of the Recording Academy and the Copyright Office, will assist in songwriter outreach to ensure all creators receive what they are rightfully owed. 

As the Library of Congress explains, the MLC will collect and distribute statutory mechanical royalties to copyright owners "when their work is streamed on interactive streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify, or sold on downloading services like Amazon Music." 

Music creators will need to register their songs with the MLC in order to get paid, while "any unclaimed royalties can start being paid to copyright owners and songwriters of matched works according to each work's market share," according to the Library of Congress. 

Learn more about how you can get paid via the forthcoming MLC system at the Recording Academy's Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar next week. 

Where Do These Royalties Come From?

The official MLC website provides a very helpful visual breakdown of how their new process will work in an effective and transparent manner. 

Simply put, music streaming services operating under a blanket license from the MLC will be required to send monthly usage data files and the corresponding royalties to the MLC. 

The MLC will then compute the royalties due for each work based on the usage data, which reflects streaming and download figures, it receives from the streaming services. 

Important: In order to receive payments from the MLC, all music publishers and self-administered songwriters, composers, and lyricists will need to register with the MLC in order to access their data via the MLC Portal, your key to getting your royalties paid.

How To Get Ready?

Ahead of the MLC Portal rollout, the MLC has launched two initiatives, the Data Quality Initiative (DQI) and the Music Data Organization Form, to help creators "Play Your Part" and "organize and prepare their musical works' data" ahead of the launch of the portal, according to the MLC website. 

Music publishers, administrators, self-administered songwriters and foreign collective management organizations (CMOs) can participate in the DQI, which will "help streamline the comparison of large schedules of musical works." For self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists, the Music Data Organization Form will help organize your musical works' data ahead of the MLC Portal rollout.

Learn more about how you can join the MLC and "Play Your Part" as we head into the new MLC era of royalty payments next year.

Attn. Songwriters: Recording Academy To Host Webinar On The MLC

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Mechanical Licensing Collective Officially Launches

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On Jan. 1, 2021, the MLC began administering the new blanket mechanical licenses for streaming and download services, a welcomed development for music creators
Advocacy
Jan 7, 2021 - 10:18 am

The Mechanical Licensing Collective has officially started to collect mechanical royalties! Established as part of the landmark Music Modernization Act (MMA) of 2018, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) was designed with songwriters, composers, publishers, and lyricists in mind, many of whom previously faced issues collecting their entitled mechanical royalty payments from digital streaming services. 

On January 1, 2021, the MLC started to remedy these issues by officially administering new blanket mechanical licenses for streaming and download services. Other royalties are not affected and will continue to be distributed in the same manner—such as through an existing PRO for a songwriter's performance royalties. Self-administered and independent songwriters who register their works through the Collective's portal can expect to receive their first payment later this spring. For songwriters or composers signed with a publisher or working with a rights administrator, be sure to check with them to ensure that all of your works are properly registered with the MLC.

This collection service will continue to regularly distribute these royalties at no cost to creators. The MLC's $62 million budget is funded by the streaming services, as required by the MMA. And the MLC will also launch a comprehensive public musical works database to ensure transparency and accuracy.

While the Collective has only recently started to collect mechanical royalties from these services, the launch of this impactful tool is the result of years of advocacy, negotiations, and preparation. The Recording Academy played an instrumental role in drafting the MMA and pushed policymakers to remedy this chronic issue on behalf of songwriters.

Recently, the Recording Academy hosted a webinar to explain how the service will help creators and address questions about eligibility and registration. The panel was moderated by the Recording Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer Daryl Friedman and featured Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr., MLC CEO Kris Ahrend, and songwriter and GRAMMY nominee Tayla Parx.

Visit the MLC's website to learn more about this game-changing tool.

5 Key Quotes From The Mechanical Licensing Collective Webinar

Statue of Brazilian musician and composer Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim in 2020

Statue of Brazilian musician and composer Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim in 2020

 

Photo: Bruna Prado/Getty Images

 
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A Year In Review: Helping The Music Ecosystem Survive The Pandemic

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From securing COVID relief for struggling music creators to getting out the vote with #MusicVotes, let's take a moment to reflect on a year of advocacy wins
Advocacy
Dec 29, 2020 - 10:55 am

This unprecedented year has been extremely painful for the music ecosystem, but it is not without hope. Before we look forward to the return of live music, sold-out tours, and in-studio recording sessions poised to take place in 2021, let's take a moment to reflect on the highlights of what the advocacy of Recording Academy members and music lovers helped to accomplish this past year:

January: 
Bringing Music Makers And Policymakers Together At The GRAMMYs
Leading artists, songwriters and producers met with members of Congress as part of GRAMMY Week. The discussion gave legislators firsthand knowledge about the challenges facing music creators.

February:
Academy Fights For NEA Funding
The Academy quickly jumped to action after the President released his annual budget in February that zeroed out funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), calling the proposal a "non-starter" and submitting testimony to Congressional appropriators in support of an increase in funding, which Congress ultimately approved. 

March:
Passage Of The CARES Act Includes Historic Help For Music Creators
Academy members advocated Congress to include pro-music provisions in a COVID-19 relief package, and as a result, the CARES Act provided unemployment assistance for the first time to self-employed gig workers, made self-employed workers eligible for the new Paycheck Protection Program, and provided $75M in supplemental funds for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

April:
Academy Establishes CARES Act Helpline
To help Academy members access the benefits available under the CARES Act, the Recording Academy established the CARES Act Hotline to answer questions and conducted an informational webinar. 

May:
Harvey Mason, jr. Testifies Before Senate: Creators Must Be Paid Fairly
The Recording Academy's Chair & Interim President/CEO was a witness before the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. As part of a series of hearings examining the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Mason advocated for a performance right for sound recordings on AM/FM radio. 

June:
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Includes National Treatment Provisions
Academy members asked Congress to protect creators in the USMCA during GRAMMYs on the Hill 2019, and the new USMCA trade agreement officially established a "national treatment" with Canada and Mexico that enables U.S. performers to receive radio performance royalties for airplay in those countries.

July:
Yolanda Adams Testifies In The Senate: Fair Use Must Be Fair To Creators
Four-time GRAMMY winning singer/songwriter and Recording Academy Trustee Yolanda Adams represented the Academy at a formal DMCA hearing before the Senate's Intellectual Property Subcommittee.

House Introduces HITS Act
With support from the Academy and its members, Reps. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.) introduced the bipartisan Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, allowing independent artists to expense the cost of new studio recordings within the same year of production. 

August:
Summer Of Advocacy Concludes With District Advocate Day
Culminating with the first all-virtual District Advocate Day, thousands of Academy members met with hundreds of Congressional offices to stress the importance of pro-music relief. 

September:
#MusicVotes Helps Get Out The Vote
Alongside our partners at HeadCount, the Recording Academy's #MusicVotes campaign made it simple, easy, and fast for music creators to vote, apply for an absentee ballot, and find their polling place.

October:
Recording Academy Supports MLC Implementation
Established by the MMA, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) will collect mechanical royalties from digital streaming services. To help songwriters understand the new MLC, the Academy hosted a webinar with MLC CEO Kris Ahrend and songwriter Tayla Parx. 

November:
HITS Act Introduced In The Senate
After Academy members lobbied for the HITS Act during District Advocate day and throughout the fall, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced a companion bill in the Senate, demonstrating its growing support.

December:
Academy Advocacy Helps Ensure Additional COVID-19 Relief For Creators
After more than nine months of advocacy by thousands of RA members, Congress passes a second comprehensive COVID relief bill, extending and enhancing benefits to freelance music creators.  The omnibus bill also contained key copyright improvements including the CASE Act (small claims copyright court).

Without the tireless advocacy of Recording Academy members, none of these accomplishments would have been possible, but we know we still have much more work ahead of us in the New Year to ensure that the music ecosystem sees a full recovery. Here's to a safe and wonderful holiday season!

Recording Academy And Music Community Coalitions Continue Advocacy For COVID-19 Relief

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Photo: NEIL GODWIN/TOTAL GUITAR MAGAZINE/GETTY IMAGES

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Copyright Office Names Mechanical Licensing Collective

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Ahead of schedule, the U.S. Copyright Office chooses who will run the MLC and recognizes the Academy's helpful input through the selection process
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Jul 8, 2019 - 3:46 pm

The day after Independence Day saw a surprise from the U.S. Copyright Office. In accordance with the Music Modernization Act (MMA), the Office made its designation for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), choosing Mechanical Licensing Collective, Inc. (MLCI) to manage the new blanket mechanical license and handle royalty collection and distribution as established by the MMA. Under the statute, the designation was due on July 9.

The MLCI, the group submission led by led by the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and the Songwriters of North America (SONA), ultimately prevailed over a competing proposal known as the American Music Licensing Collective (AMLC). In making the designation, the Copyright Office concludes that the "AMLC’s goals and principles are laudable, and its submission includes a number of ideas that should be given further consideration," but that ultimately "MLCI’s planning and organizational detail provide a more reliable basis for concluding that it will be able to meet the MLC’s administrative obligations." The MLC will begin issuing the new license in January 2021.

The 88-page Final Rule released by the Copyright Office also includes the designation for the Digital Licensing Coordinator (DLC), the entity that will represent the interests of the digital streaming services that use the new blanket license. Only one candidate, which includes representatives from Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Pandora, was submitted for consideration as the DLC.

Along with their ahead-of-schedule designation, the Copyright Office cited the Recording Academy's comments frequently in its Final Rule, noting how the Academy’s input informed its decision-making process. In the final analysis of the determination, the Copyright Office buttresses its conclusion by recognizing that “the Recording Academy, a rare organization to withhold endorsement until it was able to study each candidates' proposals, weighed in on the perceived capabilities of the two proposals, ultimately endorsing MLCI ‘upon careful consideration of both submissions.’ The Academy noted that MLCI’s 'submission embodies a thoughtful, meticulous, and comprehensive approach,' concluding that it was 'best equipped to satisfy' the duties of the MMA.”

The Copyright Office then followed the Academy’s lead, concluding that “[f]or somewhat similar reasons, the Copyright Office concludes that MLCI is better equipped to operationalize the many statutory functions required by the MMA.”

Earlier, the Final Rule notes the Academy’s specific interest in ensuring that the MLC conducts robust matching of song data with unclaimed funds, highlighting that the “Recording Academy urged the Register to seek further information on MLCI’s commitments to match works and on when such commitments may reasonably be exhausted.”

The Copyright Office affirms the preeminence of reliable data matching and the Final Rule details the commitments and assurances provided by the MLCI to accomplish that goal. The Office also establishes its interpretation of the MMA that unclaimed accrued royalties may be held beyond the statutory holding period until such funds are matched to the appropriate owners. Accordingly, unclaimed royalties can be released and distributed by the MLC no sooner than January 2023, but they can also be held longer to facilitate continued matching.

The Office also calls out the importance of a game plan for outreach from the MLC to make sure that every songwriter is fully informed about the new entity and its importance. Outreach to the songwriter community was also a key issue in the Academy's recommendations.

"The Recording Academy asserts that 'without an effective outreach program, the Collective will not succeed,'" the rule reads. "While noting that both proposals contain information regarding public outreach, the Recording Academy suggests that both are insufficiently detailed with respect to clear and executable plans, and how each will measure the effectiveness of outreach. The Office questioned each candidate about specific plans and metrics in subsequent meetings."

Ultimately, the Copyright Office was satisfied by the answers provided by MLCI in response to the questions the Academy put forward for consideration. Recording Academy chief industry government and member relations officer Daryl Friedman thanked those involved in the decision making for considering the Academy's stance and input. "The Recording Academy congratulates the MLC, Inc. on its selection to run the new Collective, and thanks the Copyright Office for its diligence in its selection process that reflects attentiveness to the Academy’s comments," Friedman said. "The Academy now looks forward to utilizing its Chapters and thousands of members to assist the MLC in songwriter outreach to ensure the Collective’s success."

The MLC's success is important for everyone in the music community, but especially the songwriters who deserve fair, transparent compensation for their work. With the MLCI now primed to take over this significant role in implementing the MMA, the Academy stands ready to continue to leverage its community of music creators to support building a better system for all.

7 Ways To Support Music Creators On The 4th Of July