The new Music Modernization Act combines provisions of four separate legislative initiatives into a single bill that is expected to reform the music licensing system. In particular, the Act proposes to create the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), an independent not-for-profit organization selected by the Copyright Office. This licensing organization would create a publicly accessible database storing song ownership information and provide a blanket mechanical license for digital streaming. While there are currently other royalty collection societies for performance copyrights, such as ASCAP and BMI, there has never existed an organization that provides licenses for mechanical copyrights. Under the MLC regime, streaming companies would be required to provide a monthly usage report detailing the number of streams of each song in its repertoire and then pay royalties that would ultimately go to the publishers and songwriters. MLC would also allow unclaimed songs, that is, songs for which the mechanical copyright owner is unknown, to be recognized and claimed by publishers, facilitating proper payment of royalties. It has been estimated that the Music Modernization Act will result in significantly more royalties being paid to the rightful copyright owners. #omnilegalgroup #copyright #musicmodernizationact
