MLC registration is how songwriters and publishers get paid US mechanical royalties from streaming. If you write your own songs and you have never heard of The MLC, there is a real chance money has been earned by your music and not paid to you. This guide explains how to register with the MLC, what mechanical royalties are, and the mistakes that cost independent artists money.
Short version: The MLC is free to join, it collects a type of royalty your distributor does not, and it can only pay you if your songs are registered correctly.
What The MLC pays
Every time a song is streamed on an on-demand service in the United States, two kinds of money are created: money for the recording and money for the composition. Your distributor handles the recording side.
The composition side includes mechanical royalties. A mechanical royalty is owed whenever a song is reproduced, which in the streaming world means every on-demand stream and download.
The MLC (The Mechanical Licensing Collective) was set up under the Music Modernization Act to administer a blanket mechanical license for digital services in the US. Streaming and download services pay The MLC, and The MLC matches that usage to registered songs and pays the songwriters and publishers.
What The MLC does not pay
- It does not pay performance royalties. Those come from your PRO (BMI, ASCAP, and others).
- It does not pay recording royalties. Those come from your distributor and SoundExchange.
- It generally covers US digital mechanicals, not physical products like vinyl and CDs, and not mechanicals earned in other countries.
For the full picture of who pays what, see the Royalty Map.
Who needs to register
You should register with The MLC if all of these are true:
- You wrote or co-wrote songs.
- Those songs are streamed or downloaded in the US.
- You do not already have a publisher or publishing administrator registering them at The MLC for you.
If you have a publishing administrator, they usually handle MLC registration. Check with them before registering on your own so you do not create duplicate or conflicting claims.
If you are fully independent, you can join as a self-administered songwriter. According to The MLC, membership is free.
What you need before you start (ISRC, splits, IPI)
Registration goes much faster if you gather your information first. Here is your checklist.
1. Your IPI number
Your IPI is your unique songwriter ID. You get it when you join a PRO like BMI or ASCAP. The MLC uses it to identify you. If your co-writers have IPIs, collect theirs too.
Not in a PRO yet? Read BMI vs ASCAP to pick one.
2. Your splits
Splits are the ownership percentages for each writer on a song. They must add up to exactly 100%. Agree on them with your co-writers before you register. If splits conflict between registrations, money can be held until the conflict is resolved.
3. Your ISRCs
The ISRC identifies a specific recording of your song. Adding ISRCs to your MLC work registration helps The MLC match streams to your song. Your distributor gives you ISRCs when you release. See what an ISRC code is if you need to find yours.
4. Basic song details
- Exact song title (and any alternate titles)
- Names of all writers
- Publisher names, if any
- Performing artist name
Step-by-step member registration
Here is how the process generally works. The MLC updates its portal from time to time, so follow the on-screen prompts if anything looks different.
- Go to The MLC Portal. Visit themlc.com and choose to create an account.
- Create your user account. Use an email you check. This becomes your login.
- Choose your member type. Independent songwriters without an administrator usually register as self-administered.
- Enter your details. Legal name, contact info, and your IPI number.
- Add payment and tax info. The MLC needs tax forms and bank details to pay you.
- Verify and submit. Once approved, you can register works.
A note on publisher names
If you set up your own publishing entity with your PRO, you may want to use that publisher name at The MLC as well so your records line up. Consistency across registrations is what makes matching work.
Registering your works (including bulk CSV)
Membership alone does not register your songs. You need to register each work.
Registering one song at a time
Inside the portal you can add a work by entering the title, writers, shares, and any recordings (with ISRCs). This is fine for a handful of songs.
Registering in bulk
If you have a larger catalog, The MLC supports bulk registration using a spreadsheet template. You fill in one row per work and upload the file. This saves a lot of time but also makes it easy to repeat one mistake across dozens of songs, so double check your splits and IPIs.
Royalty Lock generates a correctly formatted MLC file from the song details you confirm once. The AI preps the file, and you upload it under your own MLC login. We never log into your account.
Use the Claiming and Matching tools
The MLC also offers tools to search for recordings that have not been matched to a work and claim them. If your song has been streaming for a while before you registered, this is where you find recordings that belong to you. The Missed Royalties Check walks you through what to search.
How long payment takes
The MLC pays on a regular monthly schedule, according to its website. But there are several delays between a stream happening and money reaching you:
- Services report usage after the month ends.
- The MLC has to match usage to registered works.
- Your registration has to be accepted and your payment info verified.
So even after you register, expect your first payment to take some time. The earlier you register, the sooner money can start flowing.
Common mistakes that lose money
These are the errors we see most often.
Splits that do not add up
If your shares add up to 90% or 110%, the registration may be rejected or money may be held. Always total exactly 100% across all writers.
Missing co-writers
Leaving a co-writer off does not give you more money. It creates a conflict when they register the same song. Include everyone.
No ISRCs on the work
A registration without recordings is harder to match. Add every ISRC for every version (original, remix, acoustic, and so on).
Different titles in different places
If your song is "Midnight Drive" at your distributor and "Midnite Drive" at The MLC, matching gets harder. Use the exact same title everywhere, and list alternates.
Assuming your distributor handles it
Most distributors collect only master royalties. Some offer publishing administration as a separate paid add-on. If you have not signed up for one, assume nobody is registering at The MLC for you.
Waiting too long
Unmatched money does not sit forever. The MLC has rules about how long unmatched royalties are held before they are distributed under its policies. Register early and check the Claiming tools. You can see what we can and cannot submit directly on our roadmap.
If you want the whole registration journey in order, start with our pillar guide: how to register a song everywhere it earns.
Mechanical royalties explained simply
The word "mechanical" goes back to the days of player pianos and records, when a song was reproduced mechanically. Today the idea is the same: any time a copy of a song is made, the songwriter is owed a mechanical royalty.
In streaming, each on-demand stream counts as a reproduction. That is why streaming services owe mechanical royalties on top of what they pay for the recording itself.
Who sets the rates
In the US, mechanical rates for streaming are set through a government rate setting process run by the Copyright Royalty Board. The rules are complex, and they change over time. You do not need to calculate them yourself. What you need is to be registered so your share can find you.
How the money flows
- A fan streams your song on an on-demand service in the US.
- The service reports that stream to The MLC and pays mechanical royalties under the blanket license.
- The MLC matches the stream to a registered work using data like ISRCs, titles, and writer info.
- The MLC pays the registered songwriters and publishers according to their shares.
If step 3 fails because your song is not registered, the money is held as unmatched.
Self-administered vs using an administrator
You have two main options for collecting MLC royalties.
Self-administered
You join The MLC yourself and register your own works. You keep every dollar The MLC pays you. The tradeoff is that you do the paperwork.
Publishing administrator
A publishing administrator registers your songs at The MLC and often at societies around the world, then keeps a percentage of what it collects. This can make sense if you earn a lot abroad or want someone else to handle everything. Just know that you will pay a share of your royalties for as long as the deal lasts.
Which one is right for you?
If most of your listeners are in the US and you are comfortable with some paperwork, self-administering at The MLC can make sense. If you have a big international audience, an administrator may help you collect foreign mechanicals that The MLC does not cover. There is no single right answer, only the one that fits your catalog.
Keeping your MLC catalog healthy
Registration is not a one time chore. A healthy catalog needs a little upkeep.
- Add every new release as soon as you have the ISRC.
- Add new recordings of old songs, like remixes or live versions, to the existing work.
- Review your statements and look for songs that earn nothing when you know they are streaming.
- Update your payment and tax info whenever it changes.
- Search the Claiming tools every few months for unmatched recordings.
A quick check a few times a year can catch problems before money gets stuck.
FAQ
How do I register with the MLC as an independent artist?
Create a free account at The MLC Portal, choose self-administered songwriter if you have no publishing administrator, add your IPI number, tax and payment details, then register each song with its writers, splits, and ISRCs.
Do I need a publisher to join The MLC?
No. Songwriters without a publisher or administrator can join as self-administered members and register their own works.
What are mechanical royalties in streaming?
Mechanical royalties are paid to songwriters and publishers when a song is reproduced. In the US, on-demand streams and downloads generate mechanical royalties, which digital services pay to The MLC under the blanket license.
Is The MLC the same as a PRO?
No. A PRO like BMI or ASCAP collects performance royalties. The MLC collects US digital mechanical royalties. They are separate income streams, and most songwriters need both.