Members are now able to search the next set of historical unmatched royalty data — data that remained unmatched after we completed our initial internal matching processes — using the Matching Tool in The MLC Portal. This set of data consists of unmatched data from Spotify for usage that took place between 2011-2013. 

Due to the large amount of unmatched data from Spotify, we will be uploading this data to the Portal in phases. We expect the remaining sets of unmatched data from Spotify for the pre-Phono 3 periods to be available in the Portal over the next few months.  

So, when Members use the Matching Tool to search for unmatched data that corresponds to their musical works, their search results will include this set of historical unmatched data from Spotify, in addition to the remaining historical unmatched data from the 19 DSPs that we added to the Matching Tool over the last five months (i.e., Deezer, Hoopla, Pandora, SoundCloud, Tidal, iHeart, Apple Music, Pacemaker, Recisio, Weav, Amazon, Trebel, Audiomack, GTL, Mixcloud, Qobuz, Google Play, YouTube and Wolfgang’s).

As we shared before, unmatched usage data is identified in the search results within the Matching Tool as follows:

• An “H” icon will indicate historical unmatched usage that took place before January 1, 2021 (the blanket license effective date)
• A “B” icon will indicate blanket unmatched usage that took place on or after January 1, 2021
• Search results that display both icons will identify unmatched usage that took place both before and after January 1, 2021

To the extent Members propose matches that cover data from any of these 20 DSPs, once accepted, The MLC will reference these matches when we process (or reprocess) blanket royalties and historical royalties in future distributions.

This month, we distributed approximately $208k in newly matched historical royalties from Spotify and the other DSPs we have previously begun to distribute. The amount of matched royalties we distributed does not include any amounts that were matched to works owned by rightsholders who were identified as parties to a previous settlement with Spotify.

These historical royalties are identified separately on the royalty statements we provide to Members, and we specify the usage month for these historical royalties just like we already do for blanket royalties.

If you want to catch up on any of our Member communications that recap our efforts to match the data we received for historical unmatched uses and then pay out the matched royalties, you can find them all here. We will reach out again in the coming weeks with another update about the next set of data that will be uploaded to the Portal and the matched historical royalties that will be paid out in the November distribution. Thank you for continuing to Play Your Part in The MLC process.

The Support Team Is Here For You!

Email: Start here

Call: 615-488-3653

Chat: In the Portal