The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) has launched a global directory of Music Licensing Companies (MLCs), the collective management organizations that distribute performance rights revenues to record labels. The resource is designed to help trade associations and their label members navigate the fragmented international rights landscape.
The public version of the MLC Directory lists each entity’s country, region, website, and, where publicly available, unclaimed royalties. WIN says surfacing these unclaimed repertoires is a critical step toward ensuring performance income reaches the correct rightsholders.
WIN members gain access to an enhanced edition that adds:
- Contact details
- Applicable distribution rules
- Specific rights covered
- Qualification criteria
- Systems used
Access to the members-only content is managed through local trade associations.
“The MLC Directory reflects WIN’s long-standing commitment to making the global performance rights system more transparent and accessible,” said Noemí Planas, CEO of WIN. “Every independent label, whatever its size or where it operates, deserves a clear view of who the key players are and how revenues flow. We want independent labels around the world to start seeing performance rights not as a complexity, but as a real and maximizable revenue stream.”
The directory was developed in collaboration with the WIN Performance Rights Group (PRG), a body of leading independent music companies with deep expertise in international rights management.
Henry Thomas, Co-Founder of Cactus and a WIN PRG contributor, said: “The MLC Directory is a great resource, empowering independent labels to make informed decisions about how to manage their performance income globally. Labels now have the opportunity to understand where their income may be held with a route to collect it.”
