This completes the first review process of the MLC and DLC, which will occur every five years. The Copyright Office calls the organizations' work so far "a great success."
By
Kristin Robinson
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) and the Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC) have both been re-designated by the U.S. Copyright Office. This means that the two organizations have finished a government-mandated evaluation, which occurs every five years, to assess whether they are effective in their roles. In being re-designated, both are approved to continue for the next five years. The Office noted in its assessment, released Wednesday (June 3), that “the administration of the MMA’s blanket mechanical license has been a great success for publishers, songwriters, and [digital music platforms.]”
The evaluation kicked off in January 2024 and marked the first-ever re-designation process for both organizations. The mandate and instructions for the re-designation are laid out in the Music Modernization Act (MMA), which was passed in 2018. The MMA is a pivotal piece of legislation for the music industry, replacing the old song-by-song licensing system for digital streaming services with a new blanket license for musical work mechanicals. To administer the new blanket license, the MMA called for a mechanical licensing collective and digital licensee coordinator to be established, and the re-designations were designed to keep them in check.
