How to read your MLC royalty statement
By Marc Aaron Jacobs · Updated
The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) pays US mechanical royalties from streaming and download services. It is not a performing rights society and has nothing to do with TV airings. Its royalty detail export is a tab-separated file where each line is one work, on one service, for one month.
MLC Song Code is the work, Work Primary Title the title, DSP Name the service, Use Type the kind of use, Number of Usages the streams or downloads, and Distributed Amount what you were paid.
The columns, one by one
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| MLC Song Code | The MLC's work code. On every row. |
| Work Primary Title | The work. |
| DSP Name | The streaming or download service. |
| Use Type | The kind of use. |
| Number of Usages | Streams or downloads. Not broadcasts. |
| Usage Period Start Date | The month the use happened. Every line covers exactly one month. |
| Territory | Where it was used. |
| Distributed Amount | What you were paid, in US dollars: the royalty plus any late fee and interest. |
Distributed Amount, broken down
Distributed Amount is Publisher Royalty Amount plus Late Fee Amount plus Interest Amount. Across three real distributions and more than 26,000 lines, that sum matched on every line. Add up Distributed Amount for your total, and do not add the parts on top of it.
Two exports
The royalty detail export has 62 columns. The work summary export is shorter, 27 columns, and adds the admin publisher. Both have the same core columns above. A bulk registration file is a different thing and is not a statement.
Read it in one minute
Drop the file into the free statement reader and it is recognized as MLC automatically. It runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and no account is needed.
Common questions
Is the MLC the same as ASCAP or BMI?
No. The MLC pays US mechanical royalties from streaming and downloads. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC pay performance royalties, including for TV.
What does Distributed Amount include on an MLC statement?
The publisher royalty plus any late fee and interest. It is already the total; do not add the parts to it.
What is Number of Usages?
Streams or downloads in that month on that service. It is not a broadcast count.
Related
- How to read your ASCAP royalty statement: domestic and international exports, column by column.
- How to read your BMI royalty statement: what each column means, and why titles stop at 30 characters.
- How to read a royalty statement: what the blank channel column means, and why one line is not one payment.
Who makes this
ONTRK is built by Marc Aaron Jacobs, a composer who runs the libraries Tonal Chaos and Tonal Chaos Trailers, and who built DropCue. ONTRK started as the thing he wrote to read his own ASCAP statements. Questions go to hello@ontrk.app and reach him directly.
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