MLC vs HFA: Which One Does What for Songwriters?

If you write songs and someone streams them on Spotify, you're owed a mechanical royalty. The question every indie songwriter eventually asks: who actually collects that money — the MLC or HFA? And do you need both?

Short answer: the MLC pays you automatically (if your songs are registered). HFA mostly works for established publishers and doesn't serve indie writers directly. You almost certainly want the MLC. Whether you also want HFA depends on your label situation.

Long answer below.

What the MLC actually is

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) was created by the Music Modernization Act in 2018 and started collecting royalties in January 2021. It's the only US organization that collects digital mechanical royalties from streaming services and pays them directly to songwriters and publishers — without either party needing to negotiate a license first.

When Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, or any other interactive streaming service plays your song, they pay a mechanical royalty into a single pool. The MLC takes that pool, matches each play to the songwriter and publisher who own the composition, and writes them a check. Quarterly. No paperwork on the streaming-service side.

Two important details:

• The MLC doesn't work unless your songs are registered with them. If a song streams and the MLC has no metadata to match it to, the royalty sits in an unmatched pool until someone claims it. The MLC publishes a list of unclaimed works — go check yours.
• The MLC only handles US streaming mechanicals. Foreign streaming, sync placements, physical mechanicals, and performance royalties are all separate organizations.

What HFA actually is (and what it isn't)

The Harry Fox Agency has been around since 1927 — long before the MLC existed. Historically, HFA was the place US publishers went to license songs to record labels for physical and digital distribution. They issue mechanical licenses, track usage, audit, and collect.

The 2018 Music Modernization Act changed everything. The MLC now handles digital mechanicals through compulsory blanket licenses for streaming services. HFA stayed in business but their role shifted:

• HFA still issues mechanical licenses for physical formats (CDs, vinyl, cassette) and digital downloads.
• HFA serves as the MLC's vendor for matching and royalty processing — meaning a lot of the MLC's back-office work runs through HFA infrastructure.
• HFA represents publishers in statutory rate proceedings and audits.

What HFA does not do for the typical indie songwriter:

• Sign you up directly. HFA primarily serves established publishers and the publishers' major-label clients. Most indie songwriters don't have an HFA account.
• Collect streaming mechanicals separately from the MLC. That money flows through the MLC now.

The decision matrix

How to actually register with the MLC

The MLC's self-serve portal is at portal.themlc.com. You'll need:

1. An account. Free. They verify your identity within a few business days.
2. Each song's ISWC (the global ID for the composition). If you don't have one, your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) issues one when you register the song with them.
3. ISRC codes for every recorded version of the song. Your distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, UnitedMasters) issues these.
4. Writer splits — the percentage of the writer share each songwriter owns, totaling 100%.
5. Publisher splits — the publisher side, also totaling 100%. If you're not signed to a publisher, this is your self-publishing entity (or Davincii, if you work with us).

Most indie writers stall here because the metadata work is tedious and error-prone — our MLC guide walks through every field. We do this for our roster; the model and rates are on the pricing page.

What goes wrong

The most common ways money sits in the unmatched pool:

• ISWC missing. The MLC can't match without it. Your PRO issues one — request it before assuming you have it.
• Writer share doesn't total 100%. The MLC rejects registrations where splits don't add up. We see partial splits constantly.
• Co-writer isn't registered. If your co-writer never set up MLC or PRO accounts, their side of the royalty stalls. Get every co-writer registered.
• Stage name mismatches with legal name. The MLC matches on the legal name on file with your PRO. If you signed up with one and your distributor reports the other, the match fails.

So which one do you actually want?

If you're an indie songwriter today: the MLC, registered correctly, is the one that pays you. HFA is rarely something you interact with directly — it's plumbing inside the publishing system.

If you find yourself wondering whether you need HFA, the real question is usually: have I registered everything with the MLC, with complete metadata, including writer and publisher splits, for every song?

That's the one that actually moves money.