Frequently Asked Questions

After selecting your preferred statement format and file type in The MLC Portal, your statement will be emailed to you. This email will include a link that opens up a .TSV file. Click the link, and it should download to your desktop. If you need to open this file in Excel instead, please follow the below steps: 

1. Download your statement from the Portal. 

2. Click the link that was emailed to you to download the statement to your computer. 

3. Open a new blank workbook in Excel. 

4. Locate your statement file in Finder or File Explorer (most likely in the "Downloads" folder). 

5. Drag the file into Excel. 

6. The data should then populate in Excel.  

Members eligible to receive royalty payments in any given month will be sent an email from The MLC notifying them when their next royalty statement is available, which will be accessible in the Royalties section of a Member’s account in The MLC Portal.  

How do I access my royalty statement in The MLC Portal? 

1. Login to The MLC Portal.  
2. Click the blue View Member button, which will take you to the "Member Summary" page.  
3. Click Statements under the “Royalties” section in the left-hand side menu. This will take you to the "Royalty Statements" page. 
4. Select the payee and usage period from the drop-down menus at the top.  
5. Click the blue Continue to Download button.  
6. A menu titled Select Download Options will appear along the right side of your screen with options for both format and file types to download the statement in: 

Format Options: 

• Work Summary – This format provides royalty data summarized at the musical work level and will show one line of data per DSP for each work. 
• Royalty Detail  – This format provides royalty data corresponding with the individual sound recordings contained in DSP usage reports and shows every instance of a played track. For example, if a work has 5,000 plays, there will be 5,000 lines to show each play. 

File Type Options: 

• Consolidated – This file type will combine all selected data into one file.  
• Individual – This option will preserve separate files for all selected data.

7. After you have selected your statement format and file type options, click the blue Download button.  

8. An email with the downloadable statements will be sent to your inbox. Click the blue link in your email to download the statement to your computer. (Please note: This link expires after 15 minutes. If it expires, simply repeat the steps above to re-download.) 

The MLC will issue monthly royalty payments and statements approximately 75 days following the end of each calendar month. For example, payments and statements delivered to Members in April 2021 will cover all royalties collected from digital service providers (DSPs) for usage during January 2021.  

Members can view The MLC’s timeline and schedule of royalty payments here.

All royalty statements to MLC Members will be accompanied by a Payee Summary available for download, which will include the Member’s beginning balance, total earnings, amount payable and ending balance.  

If you did not receive a notification email, you may not be eligible to receive a payment in that given month if the amount earned is below the minimum payment threshold. You can contact The MLC’s Support Team with any questions regarding royalty payments.

Members will be paid their royalties directly via the banking information they have submitted to The MLC.  See below for detailed payment options for both U.S.-based and non-U.S.-based MLC Members.

For Members based in the U.S.: 

• ACH (U.S. direct deposit) – transfer time is 1-5 business days and requires a $5 minimum in royalty payments to be issued.  
• Physical (paper) checks* – transfer time is approximately 15 business days depending on the postal service and requires a $100 minimum in royalties to be issued. 
• Wire transfer – transfer time is 1-5 business days and requires a $250 minimum in royalty payments to be issued. 

For Members based outside the U.S.**: 

• Local bank transfer/eCheck (international direct deposit) – transfer time is 1-5 business days and requires a $100 minimum in royalty payments to be issued  
• Physical (paper) checks* – transfer time is approximately 30-45 business days depending on the postal service and requires a $100 minimum in royalties to be issued. 
• Wire transfer – transfer time is 1-5 business days and requires a $250 minimum in royalty payments to be issued. 

* The MLC checks are valid for six (6) months from the date of issuance. If your check is ever damaged, lost or expires, please reach out to The MLC Support team here.  

**Members based outside the U.S. who choose to receive payment in their local currency will be charged a 3% Foreign Exchange (FX) fee.  

The MLC began distributing historical unmatched royalties on June 14, 2022. Please review our information on historical unmatched here for more detail.

Royalty rates and terms are determined by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) through “rate proceedings” that occur every five years. The rate proceedings are given short names:

While The MLC is prohibited by law from taking part in those proceedings, representatives of both copyright holders and DSPs do participate.  

For uses taking place between 2018-2022, The MLC currently applies rates and terms established by the CRB’s Phono II determination pending the final determination on the Phono III rates. Once the CRB issues its final Phono III determination, The MLC will retroactively adjust previous royalty distributions to apply the Phono III rates. The Phono II rates and terms can be found in full here. MLC Members will also have access to more specific rate calculations for each DSP within The MLC Portal. 

Phono 4 rates and terms for interactive streaming and digital downloads are effective and applicable beginning on January 1, 2023. Members began receiving mechanical royalties under Phono 4 rates beginning with the April 2023 distribution (for January 2023 usage).

On December 16, 2022, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) published a Final Rule in the U.S. Federal Register setting the blanket license mechanical royalty rates for permanent digital downloads for the Phono 4 period. The full text of the rates and terms covering permanent digital downloads is available here.

On December 30, 2022, the CRB published a Final Rule in the U.S. Federal Register setting the blanket license mechanical royalty rates for interactive streaming. The full text of the rates and terms covering interactive streaming is available here.

Together, these two Final Rules set forth the royalty rates payable to The MLC for covered activities under the Blanket License for the Phono 4 rate period (January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2027).