Music video publishing rights and clearances

Spotify relies on songwriter and publisher ownership data registered with the MLC to determine eligibility for the distribution of music videos in the US. This is separate from the label/distribution delivery process.

To enable your video for streaming in the US, ensure that every songwriter associated with the underlying musical work contained in your video has:

1. Signed Up for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (“The MLC”) — the nonprofit organization responsible for paying songwriters & publishers for streams occurring in the USA. It’s free and easy to join!
2. Registered their musical works with The MLC to begin collecting publishing royalties from all streaming services operating in the USA.
3. Opted-in to Spotify’s Direct Audiovisual Licensing Agreement hosted & maintained by The Harry Fox Agency (“HFA”).

Once this process is complete, it may take up to 7 days for the video to be enabled for streaming in the US.

Note: If a songwriter is signed to an exclusive publishing agreement, their music publisher is commonly responsible for registering musical works with collecting societies around the world, including The MLC, and The Harry Fox Agency for administrative services.

If the songwriter(s) are not familiar with the business of music publishing or global royalty collections, we encourage them to explore publishing administrators such as Kosign, Sentric Music, Songtrust, or Tunecore Publishing Administration for further information.