How has the Music Modernization Act changed mechanical royalty disputes?

The Music Modernization Act significantly changed how mechanical royalties are licensed and paid for digital uses. It replaced the older song-by-song compulsory licensing process with a blanket licensing system for digital music providers, administered by the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), which became operational on January 1, 2021. In effect, the MLC took over the burden of identifying and matching copyright owners to musical works, a task that previously fell to digital services themselves under the song-by-song system. In exchange, the MMA gave digital services a safe harbor, capping their liability for unmatched works as long as they comply with the blanket license's reporting requirements. Songwriters and publishers must be registered with The MLC to receive these royalties. Disputes now frequently involve whether a work was properly matched and registered, whether royalties were correctly calculated and distributed, and the treatment of unclaimed accrued royalties. Understanding this framework is essential to resolving modern streaming-royalty disagreements.