Federal regulators have kept The Mechanical Licensing Collective in place as the official body tasked with running the blanket compulsory mechanical license that eligible U.S. streaming and download platforms rely on. The U.S. Register of Copyrights made the call public on June 3, 2026, a move that keeps The MLC anchored at the center of the statutory licensing system used across the American digital music business.
Five-Year Term Survives Its First Checkup
This outcome grew out of the Register’s first scheduled review of The MLC’s original five-year appointment, a checkpoint mandated by the Music Modernization Act. Regulators entered the same ruling into the Federal Register on June 3, 2026, with the announcement originating out of Nashville, Tennessee.
According to The MLC, the outcome verifies that it will keep functioning as the entity that runs the nation’s blanket compulsory mechanical license system. Streaming and download services that qualify under the statute depend on this framework to secure mechanical licenses covering the musical works they distribute digitally.
A Review Clock Set By The Music Modernization Act
Everything about this review traces back to the Music Modernization Act, the federal statute that built the mechanical licensing structure The MLC oversees. The organization’s own materials note that the Register of Copyrights first handed it this designation back in July 2019, under the 2018 Music Modernization Act.
That history matters because keeping the designation in force means the very same organization stays responsible for running the blanket compulsory license for the digital services that qualify for it. Nothing in the available information points to any shift in who owns or manages The MLC, nor to any financial arrangement, settlement, or dispute resolution tied to this review.
Statutory Licensing Duties Continue Uninterrupted
In its own announcement, The MLC frames the decision as proof that it will keep running the licensing system Congress created through the Music Modernization Act. The Register’s formal rule states that the organization still satisfies the legal requirements needed for reappointment, and that same ruling also renewed the status of the Digital Licensee Coordinator, the nonprofit that speaks for digital music providers within the blanket license system.
Songwriters, music publishers, administrators, record labels, streaming and download services, attorneys, and other licensing professionals all face the same bottom line: The MLC continues to serve as the primary organization overseeing compulsory mechanical licensing throughout the U.S. streaming and download market.
The Next Checkup Is Slated For 2029
Per the press materials, regulators plan to open the following periodic review of The MLC’s designation in January 2029. Nothing in the available reporting points to further regulatory action, enforcement steps, or related filings beyond the Federal Register notice confirming the renewed designation.
The same materials reiterate that The MLC’s designation dates back to July 2019 and that this latest action came after the organization completed its first periodic review. The provided text does not mention any other operational developments.
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