Policies

The MLC has established the following policies in accordance with the Music Modernization Act of 2018 (MMA) and under the guidance of the applicable committees of The MLC.

Catalog Transfer Policy

The Catalog Transfer Policy outlines the standard procedures The MLC uses to (a) analyze catalog transfer requests, (b) administer royalties for works, or shares of works that are subject to a catalog transfer, and (c) address conflicts and disputes that arise in the catalog transfer process.  

Click here to read the current version of the Catalog Transfer Policy. Additional information about The MLC’s catalog transfer process and The MLC's Catalog Transfer Tool, which enables Members to facilitate and manage catalog transfers directly within their Member Hub accounts, can be found here.

Ownership Dispute Policy

The Ownership Dispute Policy addresses disputes between or among copyright owners related to ownership claims of musical works (i.e., what we do when there is a disagreement about who owns the copyright to a song). To read the full Ownership Dispute Policy, click here.

Also, if you are unable to register a share of a work because another party is already claiming all or part of the same share resulting in a conflict, then you may seek to resolve the conflict through a conflict procedure as outlined in the Ownership Dispute Policy. To give notice to The MLC of a conflict, click here.

Statutory Terminations Policy

The Statutory Terminations Policy outlines the standard procedures The MLC uses to (1) review and address Termination Claims, (2) administer Royalties for Works/Shares that are subject to Termination Claims, and (3) address Termination Disputes.

To read the full Statutory Terminations Policy, click here. For more information about Statutory Terminations and to access the Termination Notice Form required to initiate a Termination Claim, please click here.

Policy for the Distribution of Unclaimed Accrued Royalties

The Policy for the Distribution of Unclaimed Accrued Royalties sets forth the procedures The MLC uses to hold and distribute remaining unclaimed accrued blanket royalties and related interest through the market share distribution process established by the MMA, including the methodology used to calculate market shares for these distributions. To read the full Policy for the Distribution of Unclaimed Accrued Royalties, click here. For more information about market share distributions, click here.

Policy Archives

Click here to access prior versions of the policies.

Foreign Language Documentation

When The MLC Policy requires the submission of documentation and the documentation is in a foreign language, The MLC requires the submission of a completed and signed Foreign Language Documentation Summary form along with any foreign language documentation. Please click here to access the Foreign Language Documentation Summary form.