When Does The MLC Pay Songwriters? The 75-Day Timeline, the Minimums and How to Read Your Statement

You registered a song. An artist released it. Weeks later, your account is still empty. That is usually a timing issue, and sometimes a data issue. The short answer: The MLC pays about 75 days after the end of the month in which the streams happened. We call that the usage month.

This guide explains The MLC's payment clock, what its statements show, how to estimate what a stream pays, and what to check when money is late. The MLC is the U.S. nonprofit that collects digital audio mechanical royalties from streaming and download services and pays them to registered songwriters and publishers.

The 75-day rule

The MLC says it issues royalty payments and statements about 75 days after the end of each calendar month. Its own example is January usage, which is paid in mid to late April. Counting 75 days from the end of each month gives this rough calendar.

• August 2026 streams: about mid-November 2026.
• September: about mid-December.
• October: about mid-January 2027.
• November: about mid-February 2027.
• December: about mid-March 2027.

Those dates are our own arithmetic, so treat them as estimates. Your Member Hub shows your next Distribution Date on your Summary page. The lesson for holiday songs: a December stream pays in March, and it pays on time only if the song was registered and matched beforehand.

Why a fix takes a month to show

The MLC takes a snapshot of its database on or about the 10th of each month. Changes to song data must be captured in a snapshot before they can affect royalty processing, so a correction made after the snapshot waits for the next one.

The MLC says work registrations and claims are typically processed within 21 days or less, and match suggestions within about 30 days, though neither time is guaranteed. Fix problems early in the month.

How you are paid, and the minimums

U.S. members can choose from these methods, according to The MLC's FAQ.

• ACH direct deposit: arrives in 1 to 5 business days. Minimum $5.
• Paper check: about 15 business days. Minimum $100. Checks are valid for six months.
• Wire transfer: 1 to 5 business days. Minimum $250.

Outside the U.S., the options and minimums differ, and choosing local currency adds a 3% foreign exchange fee. If your earnings are below the minimum for your method, you may not be paid that month.

Set up your banking and tax details first. The MLC asks U.S. tax residents for a W-9 and individuals outside the U.S. for a W-8BEN. It does not allow banking or tax edits from the 3rd to the 14th of each month, so make changes early.

Two statements, two views

To get a statement, open the Member Hub, choose View Member, then Statements, pick the payee and usage period, and download. The MLC emails a link that expires after 15 minutes. The file is a .tsv, which works in most spreadsheets, and each statement comes with a Payee Summary showing your beginning balance, total earnings, amount payable and ending balance.

• Royalty Detail statement: royalty data for each individual sound recording in the services' usage reports.
• Work Summary statement: royalty data rolled up to each musical work.

To open a .tsv in Excel, start a blank workbook and drag the file into it. In Google Sheets, choose File, then Import, then Upload, and let the separator type detect automatically.

What a stream pays: use the rate sheet

There is no single per-stream rate. Rate sheets show how each streaming service works out the rate per unit for each of its plans, and they are the same for every member. Multiply the rate per unit by your song's plays, then by your share.

The MLC's own example uses a streaming service's student plan in October 2023. A rate of $0.0005879269 on 6,000 streams comes to about $3.53, or about $1.76 at a 50% share. The MLC calls this a simplified estimate. It notes that rates for interactive streaming and limited downloads change with several factors, and it says the Copyright Royalty Board sets them, not The MLC. The current rates cover 2023 through 2027.

If money is late, check these in order

• Banking and tax details. Are they complete?
• The minimum. Is your balance above it for your payment method?
• Registration. Is the song in The MLC's database with all of its shares claimed? Royalties for a song with less than 100% of its shares claimed are held as unclaimed. Search your title in Public Work Search and use the Claiming Tool for a missing share. If a share is claimed later, The MLC pays the held royalties with interest, except for periods already covered by a market share distribution.
• Matching. Is the artist's recording linked to your song? The Matching Tool connects sound recordings, by ISRC, to songs.
• Disputes. The MLC does not decide who owns a song. It holds royalties when a dispute is substantiated, and the parties or the courts settle it.
• Where the music played. The MLC handles the blanket license for eligible streaming and download services. It is not involved in public performance, sync or record royalties. On YouTube, it collects only for official Art Tracks, not for videos that users upload.
• Who holds your registration. If a publisher or administrator has your U.S. registration and collection rights, the payment goes to them, so ask them when and how they pay you. The MLC's Songwriter Hub gives songwriters in that position a view of the works managed on their behalf.

Marketplace income runs on a different clock

Content partners see sales in the dashboard as they happen, and earnings withdraw through Stripe once the balance reaches $50. Streaming royalties from an artist's release follow The MLC's clock, and performance royalties follow your PRO's own schedule.

Keep each source's statements in its own folder so you can match them to your records at tax time. Our guide to songwriter tax paperwork lists what to gather, and registering with The MLC covers the first step.

Sources

• The MLC: Blanket Royalties
• The MLC: Royalty Payments FAQs
• The MLC: FAQs about The MLC
• The MLC: Play Your Part FAQs
• The MLC: Market Share Distributions
• The MLC Help Center: What is the payment timeline?
• The MLC Help Center: What payment method can I use?
• The MLC Help Center: What do the different statement types mean?
• The MLC Help Center: How do I open my statement .TSV file in Excel or Google Sheets?
• The MLC Help Center: What is a rate sheet and how do I read it?
• The MLC Help Center: What is the royalty rate used to calculate my royalties?
• The MLC Help Center: Updating your banking and tax information
• The MLC Help Center: Does The MLC collect royalties from YouTube?
• The MLC Help Center: What is the Songwriter Hub?