Mechanical royalties: what they are and what they pay

Mechanical royalties are paid to songwriters every time a song is streamed, downloaded or pressed. The 2026 US rates, and who collects them.

Mechanical royalties are what songwriters and publishers earn every time a song is reproduced: streamed, downloaded, or pressed onto CD or vinyl. The Spotify royalty calculator estimates this songwriting money alongside your recording income. It goes to whoever wrote the song, not whoever recorded it, and it only reaches you if the song is registered.

Mechanicals vs performance royalties

A song earns two kinds of royalty. Mechanicals come from copies. Performance royalties come from public plays, like radio, gigs and venues. Streaming counts as both, so every stream earns a little of each.

They’re collected by different organisations, which is why plenty of writers get one and miss the other.

The US rates

In the US, rates are set by the Copyright Royalty Board, a panel of federal judges.

Streaming pays a share of each service’s revenue to the song side. For 2023 to 2027 the headline rate rises each year:

Year Headline streaming rate
2023 15.1%
2024 15.2%
2025 15.25%
2026 15.3%
2027 15.35%

That rate covers the song side as a whole. Under the US formula, performance royalties are taken out of it first and the mechanical is what’s left. Then that’s split between every writer and publisher on the track.

Downloads, CDs and vinyl pay a fixed amount per copy: 12c in 2023, 12.4c in 2024, 12.7c in 2025 and 13.1c in 2026. Long songs get a per-minute rate instead if that works out higher, which in 2026 is 2.52c a minute. So a seven-minute track earns about 17.6c a copy, not 13.1c.

Who collects them

  • US streaming and downloads: The MLC (the Mechanical Licensing Collective), which has run the blanket licence US streaming services use since January 2021.
  • UK: MCPS, which runs alongside PRS for Music. It’s a separate membership from PRS, so check whether you need it before you join.
  • With a publisher or admin company: they register your songs and collect mechanicals for you, for a cut. See what a music publisher does, including what an admin company does and costs.

If nobody collects your US streaming mechanicals, the money is held as unclaimed. It doesn’t vanish, but it isn’t yours either until you claim it.

The MLC: who should join

The MLC is free to join and pays monthly. It doesn’t touch performance royalties, which still come through ASCAP, BMI, SESAC or PRS, so you need both. Unmatched money is held for at least three years.

  • US writers without a publisher. The MLC calls you a self-administered songwriter, and you have to become a Member to get paid.
  • Writers with a publisher or admin company. Usually you don’t join yourself, because they register your songs and collect for you. Check that they actually do.
  • Writers outside the US. If your local society already collects US digital mechanicals for you (MCPS in the UK, for example), it registers your share and you don’t need to join. If nobody collects them for you, join as a Member and register your songs. If you want to collect directly, check your society and publishing agreements first.

Unclaimed money goes out from April 2027

When The MLC can’t match a stream to a songwriter, it holds the money. In April 2027 it starts sharing out unclaimed royalties for the first time, beginning with January 2021 usage and working through 2021 a month at a time.

That money goes to songs that already earned in the same month, in proportion to what they earned. So if your song isn’t registered and matched, your share ends up with other people’s songs. Publishers and admin companies that receive it must pass at least 50% of the songwriter portion to their writers. More in black box royalties.

The bundle fight

Rates aren’t the only thing that moves the money. In 2024 Spotify started treating Premium as a “bundle” with audiobooks, and under the US rules a bundle pays songwriters on a smaller slice of the subscription price. Music Business Worldwide reported that this cut the Premium revenue used for songwriter royalties by almost 50%.

The MLC sued in May 2024. A judge threw the case out in January 2025, so the bundle stands. It’s a good example of why songwriters’ streaming money keeps shrinking even when headline rates go up, and why The MLC can fight for the rate but can’t fix a song that isn’t registered.

What to do

  1. Write down the splits for every song as you finish it. A signed split sheet makes registering quick.
  2. Check whether a publisher, admin company or your society already collects US mechanicals for you. If not, join The MLC.
  3. Register each song with all its writers and shares.
  4. Check your songs are matched to the recordings, and fix anything that isn’t.

Next step

Once you’re registered, put your stream counts into the songwriting section of the Spotify royalty calculator to see what your share is worth. Then make sure the performance side is covered too: the rest of our songwriting money guides cover that.

Where these figures come from

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