Understand mechanical rights, when mechanical royalties are generated, who receives them, and how royalties are collected from physical sales, downloads, and interactive streaming.

Outcome. Register so that mechanical royalties on your compositions actually reach you.

Mechanical royalties are paid for the right to use a song in phonorecords: physical copies, downloads and interactive streams. For physical and download the rate is a set number of cents per copy, with a longer rate for longer songs.

Section 115 of the Copyright Act creates a compulsory mechanical licence, which means a copyright owner generally cannot refuse it. That is why anyone can record a cover of your song without asking, and why they must pay for it.

For digital uses, the Mechanical Licensing Collective is the body designated to collect and distribute those royalties. To be paid you need three things true there: your works registered, those works matched to the recordings being streamed, and you identified as owner or co owner, with payment and tax details on file.

Registering with the MLC does not stop you affiliating with anyone else. Voluntary licensing continues alongside it under the Music Modernization Act.

What you will produce

A completed MLC registration with your works claimed and matched, and a record of which of your songs are earning mechanicals.