How did you find these royalties?
We are working directly with The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) to identify US digital mechanical royalties that have historically not been matched to the correct rightsholders. Simply put, we’re making sure you get paid what you’re owed!
What is The MLC?
The MLC was created as a part of the Music Modernization Act. This legislation moves the music industry towards more fair and transparent compensation for songwriters and artists.
The MLC is one of hundreds of collection societies around the world with which TuneCore registers your songs. TuneCore handles the administration of your works with your local PRO (such as BMI or ASCAP), The MLC and the hundreds of equivalent societies around the world, which means a more efficient and faster royalty collection process.
How much unclaimed revenue will I earn?
Generally, how much you can expect in royalty payments is dependent upon your streaming, sales, live performances and more. There’s no way to predict exactly how much you’ll earn, but you can gather an idea based on the usage of your sound recordings! You can find more information on how publishing royalties compare to your distribution earnings here: Why are my music publishing royalties less than my sound recording royalties? Or, put another way, how do I get paid from streaming services?
The MLC is just one pay source which has identified unclaimed royalties for your composition(s). The best way to ensure you’re maximizing your revenue as an artist and as a songwriter is to ensure you have publishing administration.
You can learn more about how your composition collects royalties here: Do I get paid when my composition is streamed?
When will I see this revenue in my account?
Once your compositions have been successfully registered in your Publishing Dashboard, royalties will be identified at The MLC and matched to your works. You can expect to see them in your TuneCore account within the next 6-9 months at the earliest. Be sure to review your publishing statement each quarter to see what you have collected so far.
You can find more information on the payment schedule for TuneCore Publishing royalties here: When do I get paid?
I’d like to claim my royalties - what do I do now?
You can click on the ‘Publishing’ tab in your account to get started! Once you’ve signed up, you can click on the ‘Songs’ page in your Publishing Dashboard to register any song you’ve written and start collecting royalties.
If you have any questions about registering your compositions for TuneCore Publishing, you can refer to this article for instructions: How do I register my music once I've purchased TuneCore Publishing Administration?
Why were these royalties previously unclaimed?
The MLC is doing important work to identify and pay unclaimed royalties. One of their tasks has been to identify US digital mechanical royalties specifically that have historically not been matched to the correct rightsholders.
Though these royalties have not been paid through yet, The MLC has done a great job of researching and identifying historically unmatched revenue for your benefit. Our partnership allows TuneCore to identify the compositions for which these royalties were generated, so they are now able to be collected on your behalf.
Can I claim these royalties myself directly from The MLC?
While you are able to register your works with The MLC on your own, it is much easier to have us register on your behalf. The MLC is one of many collection agencies globally where your songs could be earning royalties. As a TuneCore Publishing customer, we will register your works with The MLC and thousands of other pay sources worldwide.
There are several different types of royalties your composition generates, resulting in several revenue streams for you to take advantage of. The type of royalties being collected by The MLC are domestic digital mechanical royalties. Your PRO collects a different type of royalty (performance royalties), and other collection societies are responsible for several other types globally. As your publishing administrator, TuneCore makes it easy for you to collect all of your royalties in one place without having to deal with any of the paperwork.
You can learn more about the type of royalties TuneCore Publishing collects in relation to your PRO here: What royalties do you collect in addition to what the PROs collect?