In this newsletter, we highlight the key metrics from this month’s royalty distribution, along with the latest updates to our technology offerings. We’re also excited to share a recent industry recognition, reflecting our commitment to innovation, excellence, and service. Finally, we provide details about an upcoming webinar on the use of our Matching Tool, and information on upcoming industry events. We hope to see you in person soon!
The MLC completed its third royalty distribution of the year on March 14, bringing us to 48 total royalty distributions since we began full operations — all of which were completed on time or early. March’s distribution primarily covered newly reported usage that took place in December 2024. The total of all royalty pools reported to The MLC for this cycle was approximately $81.3 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 December 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 $78.8 million in royalties and distributed approximately $59.7 million to our Members. To learn more about our March 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 March distribution, we processed blanket royalty adjustments totaling $60k. 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 this month reflected a total overpayment of $51k. 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 second set of royalties for Google Play in the amount of $1.1 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 $155k 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 share our latest tech updates and enhancements. Here’s what’s new this month:
New Rate Sheets Now Available We’ve made improvements to how rate sheets are displayed in The MLC Portal. Rate sheets show how mechanical royalty rates are calculated for each stream, breaking it down for different subscription types — like family plans, free ad-supported, and premium tiers — so you can better understand how your royalties are being calculated.
In the Rate Sheet column, you can now find links to download various versions of rate sheets, including the initial Provisions Rate Sheets we provided, the Original Rate Sheets we provided after each initial distribution, and revised Current Rate Sheets reflecting any adjustments we subsequently processed. Members can find these rate sheets in the “Rate Sheets” section of their Member accounts under the “Royalties” item in the left-hand menu.
Expanded Public Search API
We’ve also enhanced the Public Search API, now offering expanded search capabilities. The Public Search API allows users to search for musical works in bulk through a machine-readable format. The updated version enables searches by recording title and artist, or by ISRC, utilizing matched recordings from The MLC’s database. This enhancement provides even greater flexibility and efficiency when searching for songs. To learn more and request access, click here.
We hope you find these new updates helpful. Keep an eye out for more enhancements coming soon!
We’re thrilled to share that The MLC has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025! This recognition is a testament to our commitment to excellence and our efforts to improve the administration process for digital audio mechanical royalties for the benefit of you — our Members.
Thank you for playing your part to help us fulfill our mission. Your collaboration plays a vital role in our success. To read more,click here.
Join us on Wednesday, March 26 for an informative webinar on how to effectively use The MLC’s Matching Tool! In this webinar, we will guide you through the use of the Matching Tool, helping you search The MLC's database to locate sound recordings that are not yet matched to your registered songs. We’ll walk you through the process of proposing matches and share best practices to ensure you're collecting all the royalties you’re owed. To register, click here.
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