It's been great connecting with many of you at industry events so far this year! In this newsletter, we highlight key metrics from February’s royalty distribution. We’re also excited to share our latest Annual Royalty Recap. The Annual Royalty Recap for 2025 includes cumulative statistics for all of the distributions we completed in 2025, as well as updated cumulative statistics from our 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 distributions. Finally, we highlight our latest enhancements to The MLC Portal.
The MLC completed its second royalty distribution of the year on February 13. February’s distribution primarily covered newly reported usage that took place in November 2025. The total of all royalty pools reported to The MLC for this cycle was approximately $80.2 million.
Every 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 nearly 84 percent of the total royalty pools reported to us by DSPs for their November 2025 usage to songs registered in our database.
After deducting $2.1 million in royalties for usage covered by voluntary licenses maintained by DSPs with rightsholders, we collected approximately $78.1 million in royalties and distributed approximately $58.6 million to our Members. To learn more about our February 2026 distribution, click here:
We continue to process adjustments for 2023 delivered to us by certain DSPs in connection with their Annual Reports of Usage (ARoU). In the February distribution, we processed blanket royalty adjustments for Spotify’s July to September 2023 usage that reflected an underpayment of $6.5k.
The February distribution also included reprocessing adjustments for 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the amount of ($43k).
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.
Here is a tentative schedule showing when we are planning to process the remaining adjustments for 2021, 2022, and 2023.
For a clear, up-to-date view of blanket mechanical royalties reported to us by DSPs that operate under the blanket license we administer — including breakdowns of amounts collected, matched, distributed, and more — check out our Blanket Royalties Dashboard here.
Update on DSPs Operating Under The Blanket License
The blanket license The MLC administers is available to eligible DSPs in the U.S., and today, more than 50 DSPs operate under it. New DSPs may choose to obtain the blanket license, while existing licensees may stop operating under it either through a voluntary withdrawal or through termination if a DSP fails to comply with the terms of the license.
The following DSPs have obtained the blanket license:
Winsome Truth, Inc. dba Minno obtained the blanket license on January 7.
Zedge, Inc. dba Tapedeck obtained the blanket license on January 16.
Additionally, the following DSP has withdrawn from the blanket license:
Avail withdrew from the blanket license as of January 1.
You can find more information by searching for each DSP’s Notice of License here.
Since April 2024, we have been distributing matched historical royalties for usage that took place during the Phono 3 rate period 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.
The February distribution did not include any Phono 3 historical royalties due to reprocessing being run on royalties that fall outside this period.
Overall, The MLC has been able to match and distribute over $229 million — nearly 58 percent — of the $397 million in previously unmatched historical royalties that DSPs transferred to us in 2021. To read more about the historical royalties we have distributed so far, click here:
The MLC completed 12 monthly royalty distributions in 2025, our fifth 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 2025, The MLC processed $943.1 million, directly distributed $742.3 million in royalties, and processed usage covered by voluntary licenses maintained by DSPs valued at an additional $33.2 million — bringing our total royalties distributed during the year to $775.5 million. Our average initial match rate for those distributions was 85 percent, but thanks to reprocessing, our average current match rate for those distributions is now 90 percent.
Here are some additional metrics for the 12 royalty distributions we completed in 2025:
We’re excited to share the latest updates to The MLC Portal. Here’s what’s new this month.
Stay on Top of Catalog Transfers with Notifications and Approvals
In November, we introduced the Catalog Transfer Tool, which allows Members to facilitate and manage catalog transfers directly within the Member Hub of The MLC Portal. Members could already view a dashboard of submitted requests and track their status from within the Catalog Transfer Tool. Now, all Super Users and Copyright Contacts on Member accounts will also receive automated emails and in-Portal notifications regarding transfers in progress. We’ve also added the ability for Members to approve or deny transfer requests directly within the Catalog Transfer Tool.
Find Songs Faster with Alternative Title Search
The search function within The MLC Portal and in the Public Work Search now recognizes and displays alternative song titles. For example, if you want to find the song "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)" by Don McLean, you can search for either "Vincent" or "Starry, Starry Night" and the song will appear in your search results. This update helps ensure you’re able to locate your songs, no matter what version of the title you search.
Stay tuned for more updates and enhancements coming soon!
On the following dates, phone support will be unavailable from 8 a.m. – noon CT:
Thursday, February 26
Friday, February 27
Phone support will resume at noon CT on these days. You can still reach us via live chat or email from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. CT, as usual. Thank you for your understanding!
