INDUSTRYWIDE ENDORSEMENTS
FOR THE MLC

The entire publishing sector is working in unison toward pushing the Mechanical Licensing Collective across the finish line; the filing is due to the U.S. Copyright Office on 3/21.

In the latest phase of the initiative, the National Music Publishers’ Association, the Nashville Songwriters Association International and the Songwriters of North America have unveiled a host of endorsements from copyright holders for the MLC, which creates an industrywide collective to license and administer mechanical rights.

The Music Modernization Act requires that the MLC be “endorsed by, and enjoy substantial support from, musical work copyright owners that together represent the greatest percentage of the licensor market for uses of such works in covered activities.”

Along with the overwhelming majority of copyright owners, PROs, labels and numerous other orgs have voiced their support for the MLC submission.

Songwriters and artists who support the MLC are asked to officially endorse it by heading to supportthemlc.com and adding their names.

Additionally, the NMPA, NSAI and SONA announced the MLC Board and Committee appointments, whose names are listed on the newly launched the MLC site, SongConnect.org. The Association of Independent Music Publishers took an active role in selecting the MLC board and committees, at the invitation of the NMPA.

“Our Mechanical Licensing Collective submission provides a comprehensive roadmap to the Copyright Office to establish the first collective of its kind,” said NMPA President/CEO David Israelite. “The MLC will give songwriters the money they deserve and the transparency they’ve lacked for decades. The board and committee members are the best in the business and the vast endorsements come from the many coalition members who were instrumental in the passage of the MMA. We look forward to continuing in the USCO’s designation process and the day we can finally say songwriters have the representation they’ve earned.”