How to collect mechanical royalties from the U.S.
Until a few months ago, mechanical royalties that accured in the U.S. were collected by the Harry Fox agency. Since the Music Modernization Act came into force, this responsibility has fallen to the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), a nonprofit organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office.
The MLC will collect and pay mechanical royalties collected by eligible Digital Service Providers (DSPs) such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc. from within the United States only.
Register in MES to collect mechanical royalties from the U.S.
In order to collect the mechanical royalties from the U.S. you will need to register with MLC. This can be done via Rebeat in your MES. Simply select the option “MLC registration” and fill in the requested data.
If you do not register with MLC and select the option “MLC opt-out”, the correct accounting of the mechanical royalties in the U.S. will not be taken care of. Especially in the case of cover versions or songs where you are not the composer/songwriter this can lead to legal problems.
Further information about MLC is available here: