Getting your music onto streaming platforms takes work. Making sure you collect everything it earns takes another kind of attention. The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has distributed more than $4.2 billion in royalties. But some money remains unmatched or unclaimed, and The MLC plans to begin redistributing eligible funds in April 2027. [1] If you write your own music, now is a good time to check your catalog.
Your music could be earning money you haven’t received
The MLC collects and distributes U.S. digital mechanical royalties for songwriters and music publishers. These royalties relate to the underlying song.
At its September 2026 annual meeting, The MLC reported processing nearly $5 billion, serving more than 100,000 members, and maintaining over 60 million musical works in its database. [1] Those numbers show the system's scale. They also explain why accurate information matters. A recording must be connected to the correct composition, and ownership shares must be claimed before the corresponding royalties can reach their owners. For independent artists, releasing a song should come with a second task: checking how its songwriting royalties are collected.
What changes in April 2027?
The MLC plans to begin monthly market-share distributions of remaining unmatched and unclaimed blanket royalties from January 2021. Subsequent distributions will move forward one usage month at a time. 1]
The process works like this:
A digital service reports usage and sends royalties.
The MLC attempts to identify the songs and owners.
Eligible funds remaining after the holding period enter redistribution.
Songs and shares that earned royalties receive proportional allocations for that same service, offering, and usage month.[1]
For example, suppose the remaining pool is $1,000. An eligible owner whose shares accounted for 10% of the relevant royalty distributions would receive approximately $100, before applicable interest.
This money is divided according to those earnings. Artists do not receive equal payments.
Three things to check now
The MLC recommends reviewing your catalog through its registration, claiming, and matching tools. [2]
Register missing songs. Search first to avoid duplicates, then provide accurate songwriter and ownership information.
Claim your shares. Check that your ownership percentages are recorded correctly, including songs registered by someone else.
Match your recordings. Review unmatched recordings and suggest connections to the correct compositions.
If you use a publisher or publishing administrator, confirm what they handle before submitting changes.
The MLC has already distributed nearly $239 million in historical royalties from periods before 2021. Redistribution of those historical funds will follow a separate, later process. Once royalties for a usage period have been redistributed, the MLC says a later ownership claim excludes those already-distributed funds. [2] Don’t assume uploading your music completes the collection process. Set aside time to review your registrations, ownership shares, and collection arrangements.
If your music has been streaming since 2021, are you certain you’re collecting all the mechanical royalties you’ve earned?
Sources and credits
[1] The Mechanical Licensing Collective, “The MLC Holds Annual Membership Meeting: Highlights More Than $4.2 Billion in Total Royalties Distributed and Announces Date of First Monthly Market Share Distribution,” September 30, 2026. The MLC credits the figures and distribution announcement to the MLC.
[2] The Mechanical Licensing Collective, “Market Share Distributions.” Guidance on catalog preparation, historical royalties, and claims after redistribution. The $1,000 example above is illustrative.
