Since we began operations four years ago, we have enrolled more than 50,000 Members, compiled data for more than 43 million musical works, and achieved over $2.7 billion in total royalties distributed, all while completing each of our 46 monthly royalty distributions on time or early.
Happy New Year, everyone! This month marks the beginning of our fifth year of full operations. Since we began operations four years ago, we have enrolled more than 50,000 Members, compiled data for more than 43 million musical works, and achieved over $2.7 billion in total royalties distributed, all while completing each of our 46 monthly royalty distributions on time or early. We could not have accomplished any of these milestones without your ongoing collaboration, engagement, and support.
In this newsletter, we share the key metrics from this month’s royalty distribution and details on a new Distribution Summary feature in The MLC Portal. We’ve also included a reminder to check your tax and banking information in the Portal for any needed updates so you continue to receive your royalties. Finally, we highlight our newly released podcast series, “Taking Care of Your Music Business.”
Thank you for taking the time to read our updates each month. We look forward to serving you in the year ahead.
The MLC completed its first royalty distribution of the year on January 14, bringing us to 46 total royalty distributions since we began full operations — all of which were completed on time or early. January’s distribution primarily covered newly reported usage that took place in October 2024. The total of all royalty pools reported to The MLC for this cycle was approximately $85.6 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 86 percent of the total royalty pools reported to us by DSPs for their October 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 $82.2 million in royalties and distributed approximately $61.3 million to our Members.
To learn more about our January 2024 distribution, click here:
Due to our holiday schedule, this month’s distribution did not include any newly processed adjustments to blanket usage from the last two years of the Phono 3 rate period (i.e., 2021 and 2022). We expect to pick up our processing of these Phono 3 adjustments again in next month’s distribution.
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 second set of royalties for Tidal in the amount of $993k. 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 $3.3 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:
We’re excited to introduce a new Distribution Summary report available in The MLC Portal, which offers Members a clear, concise snapshot of their monthly royalty distributions.
With the Distribution Summary report, you can easily view your total royalties distributed for the year to date, as well as detailed information from the most recent royalty distribution. The report also provides a breakdown of your royalties across key categories — such as blanket royalties, historical royalties, and Phono 3 royalties — over the last six distributions. You’ll also be able to see which digital services have been contributing most to your royalties from the last six distributions, along with a list of your top 10 songs (based on the highest royalty distributions) for the current distribution period.
The Distribution Summary will be available following each monthly royalty distribution and can be accessed on the Royalty Summary page within The MLC Portal. Over the coming weeks, we will also begin populating historical Distribution Summary reports for past distributions. Check your January Distribution Summary in the Portal today!
Start the year by ensuring all your information is up to date! Now is a great time to log in to The MLC Portal and review your banking and tax information. We encourage all Members to review this information at the beginning of each year and make any necessary updates.
Please note that banking and tax information cannot be updated between the 3rd and 14th of each month. During this period, we are finalizing the details for our monthly royalty distribution, so we cannot process changes in banking or tax information.
Starting on the 15th of any month, you can make any needed updates by logging into The MLC Portal, clicking “View Member,” then clicking “Banking Information” near the lower left corner of your screen. To log into your Portal account, click here.
Our new podcast, “Taking Care of Your Music Business," is now available! Designed to educate and empower creators at every stage of their career, this podcast dives into the business aspects of the music industry. We explore how creators earn and access royalties and share tools and actionable steps to help maximize earnings. All episodes are available here and on our YouTube channel — subscribe today!
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