Last month, we shared a status update on our efforts to match the data we received for historical unmatched uses. This month, we were able to begin distributing the first set of matched historical royalties in our June monthly royalty distribution.
Also in June, The MLC partnered with Nashville Music Equality to host “For The Culture: Empowering Black Music Creators to Achieve Beyond Reach," an in-person and virtual summit to commemorate Black Music Month. To celebrate Pride Month, we moderated a virtual panel discussion on the issues and careers of LGBT creators and professionals in the industry and participated in Nashville’s Pride Parade.
Our team also met with rightsholders at several industry events during this year’s NYC Songwriters Week, including the AIMP’s Global Music Summit, the NMPA Annual Meeting, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner. We were also excited to speak to songwriters and industry leaders at Antisocial Camp in NYC, The NAMM Show in Anaheim, and the DDEX BIG Summit 2022 in Miami. Finally, we hosted an event in Atlanta for self-administered songwriters and other industry professionals to spread the word about The MLC to the creative community there.
Our June Member newsletter provides updates on royalties (both blanket and historical unmatched), an event recap, and details about a new Member benefit. Be sure to check out our webinar calendar to see what we have planned for July!
The MLC completed its sixth royalty distribution of the year – and 15th overall – on Tuesday, June 14.
This month's distribution primarily covered newly reported usage that took place in March of 2022. The total of all royalty pools reported to The MLC for this cycle was approximately $60.2 million. We were able to match 85.25 percent of that amount to songs currently registered in our database, the second consecutive month that our initial match rate reached 85 percent.
After deducting royalties for usage covered by voluntary licenses maintained by DSPs with rightsholders, we collected $55.7 million in royalties and distributed slightly more than $40.9 million to our Members.
The remaining blanket royalties still pending distribution break down as follows:
$8.9 million in royalties for uses we have not been able to match to registered works;
$5.6 million in royalties for shares of matched works that have not yet been registered (or claimed) by our Members; and
$310k in matched royalties that are on hold.
In addition, The MLC also distributed an additional $3.6 million in royalties from previously unmatched or unclaimed uses that we were able to match – through reprocessing – to data submitted to us after we completed the initial distribution cycle for that usage.
Finally, we distributed approximately $2.1 million in matched historical royalties that were transferred to The MLC by the following 5 DPSs: Deezer, Hoopla, Pandora, SoundCloud and Tidal. These royalties all pertained to uses that took place during the Phonorecords 2 rate period, between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2017.
In last month’s Member newsletter, we shared that Members are now able to use the Matching Tool in The MLC’s Portal to search the first set of data for the remaining unmatched historical uses we have not yet been able to match from six DSPs. Since then, we have made a second set of data for unmatched historical uses available in the Matching Tool. We also included the first set of matched historical royalties in our June royalty distribution. If you want to catch up on any of these Member communications, you can find all the updates here.
The MLC held a day-long event on June 21st at our Nashville office called "For The Culture: Empowering Black Music Creators to Achieve Beyond Reach," to celebrate the evolution and impact of Black Music on the music industry. The event consisted of a full day of panels featuring some of the leading African American voices in the industry, along with networking opportunities and live musical performances. Thank you to everyone who attended and watched the event via our live online simulcast!
The MLC’s Third-Party Partnerships team is always looking for ways to expand its cultural partnership programming. If you are an individual or organization with an idea for a program or initiative, we encourage you to contact us at: partnerships@themlc.com.
We are excited to announce a new addition to The MLC’s Member Benefits from Sweetersongs!
For a limited time, Members of The MLC can get a 20 percent discount on a 16-class course taught by Emmy-winning hit music producer, songwriter, publisher and educator Michèle Vice-Maslin called From Song To Sync...And More! You’ll learn about the extensive diversity of pitching possibilities and how to pitch and place your music for artists, films, TV, games, trailers, promos, in-store retail, music supervisors, sync agents, song pluggers, managers and so much more.
Recording and performing cover songs can be a great way to build a fanbase, but it’s important for the proper rightsholders and creators to be recognized for their original work. Join Dae Bogan, The MLC’s Head of Third-Party Partnerships, along with Easy Song’s Aaron Green and his team for a 60-minute discussion that explores the ins and outs of cover song licensing following passage of The Music Modernization Act of 2018. You’ll learn what constitutes a cover song, what are potential streams of income and how to register the work properly and have all of your questions answered.
