Music Publishers Will Be Handed Millions of Dollars Next Year. Here’s Why – Billboard

The Mechanical Licensing Collective has just announced its first-ever market share distribution for all of the royalty money that never found its rightful owner. Trending on Billboard Starting in April, music publishing companies will be handed a total of roughly $7 million every month — and not for any of the business they’ve done. It’s the result of a process mandated by 2018’s Music Modernization Act (MMA), and the biggest publishers will stand to take home the most money. Here’s how this little-understood process will work.  Since the beginning of the streaming era, hundreds of millions of dollars in songwriter royalties have been accrued from streaming services in the U.S. that — for one reason or another — have never found their rightful home. Often, it happens because independent songwriters drop music by themselves, and since this group has little industry guidance, they may not provide all the proper information required to receive their payments. Other times, it can be as simple as a clerical error by a well-known, well-represented musician. Related As time progressed, this pool, sometimes referred to as “black box money” or more officially as “unmatched” or “unclaimed” royalties, accumulated with nowhere for it to go. Despite
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