FAQ

When a recording streams on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify and others there are TWO separate royalties earned. One is for the recording of the song. The second, separate royalty is for the person (or people) that wrote the song (called a musical composition). This second royalty is called a “mechanical royalty”. This is an antiquated name that was developed to describe composition royalties in the era of player pianos, but it’s a term that has been used ever since.

For example, Metallica recorded a song called “Turn The Page.” However, Metallica did not write the song – an artist named Bob Seger wrote the song

Every time that the Metallica recording “Turn The Page” streams on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, etc, one royalty is earned for the recording. This royalty is to be paid to the record label. A second, separate royalty is also earned for Bob Seger, as he wrote the lyrics and melody to the song. This royalty (the “mechanical royalty”) is to be paid to Bob Seger. That said, just because you earn a mechanical royalty it does not mean you are paid the royalty that you earned. To get the money for the mechanical royalty, you need to figure out how to collect it and if you don’t, the money gets taken from you and paid to others that did not earn it.

You’re on the right track. First, the money we’re talking about is NOT the sound recording royalty, it’s the “mechanical royalty” earned for the person that wrote the song. The mechanical royalty is NOT licensed or collected by ASCAP or BMI or other entities like them. These organizations are called Performing Rights Organizations, and they license and collect a different royalty called public performance royalties. ASCAP, BMI and other organizations like them do NOT license or collect the second separate mechanical royalties. These additional, separate mechanical royalties for streams of original music and/or lyrics are earned under the laws around the world.

Earned but unpaid mechanical royalties sit at different places around the world. If you do not figure out that these royalties exist, or if you know that they exist but do not find a way to get them, they are taken from you and handed to others. In the United States, these royalties are collected and held by a quasi-governmental organization called The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). Outside of the U.S., these royalties are held by the digital music services (Amazon, Apple, Spotify, etc). In both cases, if you do not get your money, they will take it from you and give it others – and it can be a lot of money. Remember every single stream of a recording everywhere in the world generates this second, separate mechanical royalty for the person(s) that wrote the song.

Yes. Black Box royalties are royalties that are earned but do not get paid to the person that earned them. The royalties are just sitting in a giant pool of money. If these royalties are not claimed by the person that earned them, the royalties are taken from the “Black Box” and paid disproportionately to the major music companies and others that did not earn them.

Under the law in The United States, The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has no obligation to pay any songwriter/publisher their earned mechanical royalties if they are not “claimed” under The MLC rules. Any unpaid U.S. royalties become eligible to be redistributed by The MLC disproportionality to the major music companies and to other members based on their market share in the US. Outside the U.S., if your royalties are not claimed and collected, your royalties are also disproportionality paid to the major music companies and others based on their market share in that country.

No. In the US, the government set up a system for all the licensing and all the payments to go via The MLC. The digital music services will not license from you directly. Outside the US, there are local organizations that work like the MLC that the digital services also work with. They will not license and pay you directly. Without membership to one of these organizations or hiring an entity to work for you that is set up to collect this money, you will never receive your earned royalties. Instead, your royalties will be taken and disproportionality paid to the major music companies and others based on their market share.

It does suck – and the Heavy Music Collective (HMC) absolutely can help you navigate this mess. At the moment, we can recover royalties dating back to 2002 in the U.S., and for the rest of the world, we can go back from 18 months to 2 years. However, it can get a little tricky. (See The Details). In the US, this may change based on what the US copyright office allows.

Yes. Include your most popular song and catalog details in your application. Also, if you provide The HMC with copies of your distributor or record label royalty statements that show how many times a recording of your song has streamed on a music service and in what country (and you haven’t already been paid these mechanical royalties), we can give you a better estimate

Yes. These organizations deal with separate rights grants for licensing and collecting public performance royalties, not mechanical royalties, so there is no conflict. We also do NOT touch your Performing Rights Organization royalties from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, PRS, GEMA, or SOCAN.

Yes. Record distributors deal with royalties from streams and sales of the sound recordings (WAVs, MP3s, streams, and physical products). The HMC collects the mechanical royalties owed to the person that wrote the song. These are two different rights types with two different types of royalties, so there is no conflict. Example: Metallica’s record label, Blackened Recordings, collects money for the sales and streams of Metallica’s recording of “Turn The Page.” Bob Seger, or an entity working for Bob Seger, collects the mechanical royalties owed to Bob Seger as he wrote the song. If the recording being streamed and sold is Metallica’s original song, “Seek And Destroy,” Metallica’s label would collect money for the sales and streams of the recording. Metallica also created an entity called Creeping Death Music, which collects the mechanical royalties for “Seek And Destroy” since they represent songwriters James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. We work for Metallica to make this happen.

Yes. SoundExchange collects money for record labels and the artist(s) that performed the song on the recording. SoundExchange does NOT work for the people that wrote the songs or the entity that works for them to collect these mechanical royalties. There is no conflict in this situation because SoundExchange royalties are only connected with the sound recordings – not the songs (lyrics and music). We do NOT touch or take any of your SoundExchange royalties.

Yes. As part of this process, The HMC via Word Collections will become the entity you hire to do this work for you at The MLC. After signing up with us, a representative from The MLC will reach out to confirm that you approved Word Collections to do this work for you.

Yes. With your instruction, we can re-direct payments to your publishing administrator, earning them and you more money than the entity they would normally use for digital collections. So once again, there is no conflict.

No. Conflicting ownership information will make The MLC and digital music services put your royalties on hold. You must terminate your current publishing administration agreement before signing up with us. Also, if you are (or were) in more than one band, you may have a deal for some songs but not ALL your songs. Check your catalog to see which songs are available. IMPORTANT: If you chose the publishing administration services option for CD Baby/Tunecore/Distrokid/etc when you signed up, you’ll need to terminate that particular service with them to join The HMC.

Yes! You can have your current administrator replace who they use now with The HMC via Word Collections. It will earn them, and you, more money, paid more quickly, and avoid any conflicts.

It is a deal for streaming and digital uses only – not vinyl/CDs/etc. We have focused on creating licensing deals, technology, auditing, and pipelines for collection of global songwriter/publisher mechanical and other royalties earned every time there’s a stream of a recording on services like Apple, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer and more. That said, if you are (or were) in more than one band, you may have a publisher for certain territories (Ex-US, Canada, etc), but not the world. You will need to terminate with that publisher to use The HMC’s services without territory restrictions.

No. We are the only company that licenses directly with digital services across Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and other countries with no intermediaries or outsourcing, collecting 100% of the earned royalties. We handle all aspects of licensing, administration, collections, auditing, and distribution, ensuring that you receive 100% of your earned royalties.

Yes. We cannot go to work for you unless you authorize us to do so. Once we have your permission, we have the authority to find, collect, recover, and compel all these entities around the world to pay the money that you’ve earned. If we do not have this permission and rights grant from you, we are not allowed to do the job. It would be best that you have an attorney review our agreement before you sign it, but this is not required.

No. Due to the nature of the rights grant, our agreements must be made directly with the songwriter or their publishing administrator. Managers, attorneys, and agents can have access to your account details with your permission, but you (or your publishing administrator) will have to sign the agreement. Once approved for The HMC, we will provide the agreement via DocuSign to sign on-line.

Yes, our direct licensing approach, free from middlemen and their bad data, allows you to get more royalties up to a year more quickly than any other entity.