Auto-submit roadmap
How each rail actually works
Every registry is different. Some accept a file. Some only accept a submission from you, signed in as you. Here is the honest state of each one, what we do today, and what would have to change for it to become fully automatic.
The MLC
FILE RAIL LIVE
- What it pays
- US digital mechanicals on your composition.
- Today's rail
- We generate the bulk work registration CSV in The MLC's own format. You upload it in your MLC member portal.
- The API path
- The MLC publishes a public data API for match and lookup. There is no public registration API, so the bulk file stays the registration rail.
SoundExchange
FILE RAIL LIVE
- What it pays
- Digital and satellite radio performance on your recording.
- Today's rail
- We generate the SXDirect repertoire file with both the owner rows and the featured artist rows. You upload it in your SoundExchange account.
- The API path
- No public submission API exists. The repertoire file is the supported rail.
BMI and ASCAP
PREP + YOUR TAP
- What it pays
- Public performance on your composition, radio, TV, venues, streaming.
- Today's rail
- We line up your work registration data: writers, publishers, IPIs, and splits. You enter it and submit inside your own BMI or ASCAP account.
- The API path
- No third-party filing API exists. Neither BMI nor ASCAP lets an outside app file work registrations on a member's behalf. That is a policy decision, not a technical gap, so we do not promise a date.
ISRC (from your distributor)
YOU PASTE
- What it pays
- Nothing on its own. It is the code every recording rail matches on.
- Today's rail
- Your distributor issues the ISRC. You paste it in once and we reuse the exact same code everywhere. We never mint one for you.
- The API path
- Not applicable. Minting codes you do not own would break your matching forever.
Luminate and Mediabase
GUIDED, YOUR TAP
- What it pays
- Chart and radio airplay credit, which drives deals and placements.
- Today's rail
- Luminate and Mediabase each run their own submission form. We give you the link and the exact release data to enter. You send it.
- The API path
- No public API. Both are business to business data channels.
US Copyright Office
PREP + YOU CERTIFYMONITORING ECS
- What it pays
- The legal right to sue and to collect statutory damages. This is the one that makes everything else enforceable.
- Today's rail
- We prep your application data and a deposit checklist. Your audio never leaves your device, so you upload the deposit yourself, then certify and pay the government fee in eCO. Only the rights holder can legally certify.
- The API path
- The Office is rolling out its new Enterprise Copyright System. We monitor it for real API access and will say so plainly if and when that opens.
Royalty Lock never logs into your accounts and never touches your money. When a registry opens a real submission API, that rail goes violet.