Here’s the truth.  Music publishing is complicated for a reason.  It’s so you don’t understand it and give up before you can claim your money.  You know who benefits from that?  Everyone else.  If there are fewer individuals claiming their share of music publishing, the ones with the most streams earn a bigger piece of the pie. 

There is a black box of unmatched royalties.  Once the limited time to claim these royalties is up, they become unallocated royalties.  Unallocated royalties go to writers, composers, and performers who get the most streams.  That means the biggest acts in the world earn from musicians who don’t claim their royalties. 

According to Digital Music News, the Mechanical Licensing Collective received $424 million in unclaimed royalties from music streaming services.  ASCAP collected $1.3 billion in revenue in 2020.  A big portion of that revenue is unclaimed.  In fact, some societies can keep your unclaimed royalties if they are not collected in 3 years.  Some states will claim it on your behalf, but that’s not all states.   The MLC has worked hard to make sure to extend the unclaimed term to an additional 3 years for mechanical royalties. 

You NEED to make sure you’re getting what is due to you. 

This guide is an overview and does not contain every situation.  Your unique situation may need the guidance of someone answering some specific for you.  Also, there will be times where choices have to be made by you and/or your band members.  It wouldn’t be ethical for WordPlay T. Jay or just about anyone to advise you on legal matters.  If there is a legal matter or contract dispute, hire a lawyer. 

Therefore, this guide is not meant to be a legal reference or catch all for specific situations.  The intent of this guide is to show you the basics and allow you to take control of your music publishing. 

This guide is also meant for individuals or groups that live within the United States.  We are not experts on every other territory. 

Lastly, if you do have specific questions that you feel I can answer, send me an email at wptj@otmmg.com