The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has distributed more than $3 billion in royalties to rightsholders, a total announced at its annual membership meeting on October 1, 2025.
The meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, also included board appointments and updates on the collective’s administration of U.S. digital audio mechanical royalties for songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers.
Royalty payments and membership
The MLC described itself as being in its fourth year of operations. It administers the blanket compulsory mechanical license for more than 50 DSPs (digital service providers) across the United States.
Leadership presented the following operational figures:
- More than 68,000 members worldwide in 2025.
- All 54 monthly royalty distributions completed on time or ahead of schedule.
- Data covering more than 50 million songs in its public database, which anyone can search free of charge.
- More than $3 billion in cumulative royalties distributed to rightsholders.
The collective also reported continued growth in the volume of musical works data added to its database.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the support of our Members and partners,” said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC. “Together, we’ve built an organization that not only delivers royalties accurately and on time but also brings new levels of transparency and innovation to rights administration. Surpassing $3 billion distributed is a milestone, but it’s only one step in our ongoing mission to ensure every songwriter and publisher is paid what they are owed.”
Board appointments
The meeting began with announcements about the board of directors. Class A members selected Kara DioGuardi again as a Songwriter Director, giving her a third three-year term.
Class B members returned Tim Cohan for a second term as a Publisher Director and elected Lidia Kim as a new Publisher Director. Class C membership will remain unchanged in 2026.
After the announcements, Board Chair Alisa Coleman delivered personal remarks on the collective’s past year, followed by operational updates and milestones from its leadership team.
