There’s a organization sitting on millions of dollars that belongs to independent artists.
Most of you have never heard of it.
That’s not an accident.
What Is the MLC?
The Mechanical Licensing Collective — the MLC — was created in 2021 under the Music Modernization Act.
Here’s what that means in plain English.
Every time someone streams your song on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or any other digital service — that platform owes you a mechanical royalty. Not a streaming royalty. A mechanical royalty. Two different payments from the same stream.
Before the MLC existed, digital platforms were terrible at paying these out. They couldn’t always match the song to the correct songwriter. So the money just… sat there.
The MLC was built to fix that. It collects mechanical royalties from every streaming platform and pays them out to the rightful owners.
The problem? You have to register to get paid.
Why You’re Probably Missing This Money Right Now
Let me be direct.
If you have music on streaming platforms and you are not registered with the MLC — you are not receiving your mechanical royalties.
That money is being collected on your behalf. It’s sitting in an account. And if it goes unclaimed long enough, it gets distributed to publishers who ARE registered.
Read that again.
Your money gets redistributed to other people’s publishing companies because you didn’t know to claim it.
That’s not a glitch. That’s the system working exactly as designed for people who don’t know the game.
Who Needs to Register
If you wrote the song — you need to register.
Doesn’t matter if you’re signed or unsigned. Doesn’t matter if you have a distributor. Doesn’t matter if you’re already with ASCAP or BMI.
ASCAP and BMI collect performance royalties. The MLC collects mechanical royalties. These are completely separate income streams.
You need both. Most artists only have one.
What the MLC Covers
The MLC collects mechanicals from:
Spotify. Apple Music. Amazon Music. YouTube Music. Tidal. Deezer. Pandora. And every other licensed digital streaming platform operating in the United States.
Every stream. Every download. Every on-demand play.
That’s royalties owed to you as a songwriter every single time someone presses play.
How to Register — Step by Step
Step 1 — Go to themlc.com
Create a free account. This costs you nothing.
Step 2 — Register as a Songwriter or Publisher
If you own your publishing, register as both. If you signed your publishing away — that’s a conversation for another day, but you already know that was a problem.
Step 3 — Register Your Songs
This is called a “work registration.” You’ll enter your song titles, co-writers, and ownership splits. Every song needs its own registration.
This is where most people get lazy and leave money on the table. Register every song. Including the old ones.
Step 4 — Connect Your Bank Account
The MLC pays out quarterly. Direct deposit. Set it up so the money has somewhere to go.
Step 5 — Check for Unclaimed Royalties
The MLC has a public search tool. You can look up your songs and see if there are royalties already sitting unclaimed under your name.
Go check right now. Some of you will find money you didn’t know existed.
The Mistake Most Artists Make
They register their new music and forget their catalog.
Every song you’ve ever released on a streaming platform is potentially generating mechanical royalties. That means songs from 2018, 2019, 2020 — all of it.
Go back. Register everything.
The statute of limitations on unclaimed royalties is real. Don’t let the clock run out on money that’s already yours.
The Bigger Picture
The music industry was built on artists not knowing where their money comes from.
Labels knew. Publishers knew. Attorneys knew.
Artists were kept in the dark and handed a check that was already cut short three different ways before it reached them.
The MLC exists because artists and advocates fought for it. The law changed. The infrastructure was built.
But the infrastructure only works if you plug into it.
Registration is free. The royalties are real. The only thing standing between you and that money is whether you know it exists.
Now you know.
Action Steps — Do This Today
- Go to themlc.com and create your free account
- Register as a songwriter AND publisher if you own your masters
- Register every song in your catalog — new and old
- Search the unclaimed royalties database for your name
- Set up direct deposit so payments land automatically every quarter
This takes a few hours. It could recover thousands of dollars.
There’s no excuse not to do it.
KingPaySos | Blacc Market Enterprises
#StaccOrStarve — Own the music. Own the money.
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