Free Online Micro-Courses



The MLC offers several free online micro-courses to help music creators, students, and industry professionals learn about protecting music rights, collecting royalties, and The MLC.

Music Registration 101: Registering Your Music 

In this course, you will learn about why and how to register your music in order to protect your rights and collect your royalties. This course can be completed within about 3 hours if you also decide to take the practice quizzes at the end of each section. Once you complete the course (video lessons and readings) you are given a personalized PDF Certificate of Completion that you can download and keep and provide to an instructor if you are asked to complete this micro-course as part of a college course assignment. If you decide to take the optional test at the end (which adds approximately another 30 minutes to the course), and pass the test with an 80% or higher, you are also awarded a digital badge. Once you are given access, you must complete the course within 2 weeks or your account will be deactivated, and you will need to request enrollment again using the same form. Click here to complete our enrollment request form. 
 

Course Topics:

  • Introduction to Key Concepts of Copyright, Rights, Revenue, Licensing, and Identifiers
  • Copyright Registration (registering with the U.S. Copyright Office)
  • Publishing Administration of Musical Works (how this works)
  • Public Performance of Musical Works (registering with a PRO)
  • Mechanical Uses of Musical Works (registering with The MLC)
  • Distribution of Sound Recordings (signing up with a distributor)
  • Public Performance of Sound Recordings (registering with SoundExchange)
 

The MLC 101: Introduction to The MLC

In this course, you will learn about The MLC and mechanical licensing and royalties. This course can be completed within about 2.5 hours if you also decide to take the practice quizzes at the end of each section. Once you complete the course (video lessons and readings) you are given a personalized PDF Certificate of Completion that you can download and keep and provide to an instructor if you are asked to complete this micro-course as part of a college course assignment. If you decide to take the optional test at the end (which adds approximately another 30 minutes to the course), and pass the test with an 80% or higher, you are also awarded a digital badge. Once you are given access, you must complete the course within 2 weeks or your account will be deactivated, and you will need to request enrollment again using the same form. Click here to complete our enrollment request form.

Course Topics:

  • The MLC’s Purpose
  • Copyright Basics
  • Mechanical Licenses and How to Get One
  • How the MMA Changed Mechanical Licensing
  • Mechanical Licensing Terminology and Responsibilities
  • The Digital Royalties Landscape and The MLC
  • Membership in The MLC
  • Mechanical Royalties
  • Historical Unmatched Royalties

 

Micro-Course Overview Video

Watch the video below for a brief explanation of our micro-course structure:

 

If you have questions about our courses, send us an email at edpartnerships@themlc.com.