The Annual Royalty Recap includes cumulative statistics for all of the distributions we completed in 2024, as well as updated cumulative statistics from our 2021, 2022, and 2023 distributions.
As always, this month’s newsletter features a recap of our most recent royalty distribution. Additionally this month, we are excited to share our latest Annual Royalty Recap for 2024. The Annual Royalty Recap includes cumulative statistics for all of the distributions we completed in 2024, as well as updated cumulative statistics from our 2021, 2022, and 2023 distributions. Finally, this month’s newsletter highlights a new enhancement to The MLC Portal and some helpful new video content available on our YouTube channel.
The MLC completed its second royalty distribution of the year on February 13, bringing us to 47 total royalty distributions since we began full operations — all of which were completed on time or early. February’s distribution primarily covered newly reported usage that took place in November 2024. The total of all royalty pools reported to The MLC for this cycle was approximately $77.4 million.
Each month, our team attempts to match the newly reported sound recording uses we receive to the musical works data in our public database and then distributes the resulting matched royalties to our Members. This month, we were able to match more than 85 percent of the total royalty pools reported to us by DSPs for their November 2024 usage to songs registered in our database.
After deducting royalties for usage covered by voluntary licenses maintained by DSPs with rightsholders, we collected approximately $73.7 million in royalties and distributed approximately $55.1 million to our Members. To learn more about our February 2025 distribution, click here:
We continue to process adjustments to blanket usage from the last two years of the Phono 3 rate period (i.e., 2021 and 2022). These adjustments represent the difference between the royalties we initially processed for the usage periods from those two years at the Phono 2 rates and the royalties that are due at the final Phono 3 rates. In the February distribution, we processed blanket royalty adjustments totaling $247k. At the same time, we continued to process adjustments for 2023 delivered to us by certain DSPs in connection with their Annual Reports of Usage (ARoU), which reflected an overpayment of $3k. To the extent any of these adjustments pertained to works in your catalog, you will see them identified on your statement by the category type ["Adjustments"], along with the names of the specific DSP for which the adjustment was made.
Since April 2024, we have been distributing matched historical royalties in sets. For each set of royalties from a given DSP (or DSPs), we first distribute matched historical royalties for previously unpaid uses reported by the DSP(s) concerned, then we aim to distribute matched historical royalties for previously partially paid uses from the same DSP(s) the following month.
This month, we distributed the first set of royalties for Google Play in the amount of $3.4 million. We also continued to reprocess the remaining unmatched historical royalties from previous distributions. This month’s distribution included newly matched historical royalties for uses that took place between 2007 and 2017 during the Phono 1 and 2 rate periods, and between 2018 and 2020 during the Phono 3 rate period. As a result of reprocessing these remaining unmatched historical usages, we were able to distribute approximately $3 million in additional historical royalties this month, plus interest, from a number of digital services.
To read more about the historical royalties we have distributed so far, click here:
The MLC completed 12 monthly royalty distributions in 2024, our fourth year of operations, and each of those distributions was completed on time or early. As the chart below shows, for the 12 monthly distributions in 2024, The MLC processed $1.05 billion, directly distributed $814.7 million in royalties, and processed usage covered by voluntary licenses maintained by DSPs valued at an additional $45.0 million — bringing our total royalties distributed during the year to $859.7 million. Our average initial match rate for those distributions averaged 84.1 percent, but thanks to reprocessing, our average current match rate for those distributions is now 89.8 percent.
Here are some additional metrics for the 12 royalty distributions we completed in 2024:
We’re excited to introduce enhanced filtering and sorting capabilities to the Registration History page in your Member Account. The new filters allow you to filter the registrations that have completed processing by submission status or by submission source, while the new sorting features allow you to sort by submission date or by the latest update to the registrations. Together, these new capabilities should enable you to locate specific works you’ve registered more quickly and easily track their resolution status.
We hope you find these new capabilities helpful. Keep an eye out for more enhancements coming soon!
Do you know the difference between unmatched and unclaimed royalties? Do you know that The MLC offers tools to help Members match reported usage to their registered works and claim royalties they may be entitled to? The landscape of digital music royalties can seem overwhelming, so we’ve broken it down for you in new videos on our YouTube channel.
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