In case you missed it, the MLC, Inc. was handed a five year contract in 2019 to operate the mechanical licensing collective. This contract was worth millions and millons of dollars, but more importantly guaranteed that the Harry Fox Agency would have a job for at least another five years. The salty arrangement was the brainchild of the lobbyists, the controlled opposition and the Copyright Office–and has resulted in The MLC, Inc. sitting on hundreds of millions of other peoples money. 

The Copyright Office has posted a notice letting us know that the time has come for the circular admiration society also known as the 5 year review of the MLC and the DLC as required by Title I of the oh so modern Music Modernization Act (yet we keep comeing back to these age-old problems that are not modern at all). This is all conducted by the Copyright Office which in a meaningful way is simply reviewing how well the Copyright Office did with the designation of the MLC, Inc. as much as how well the MLC met expectations.

After suffering through establishing some regulations for the MLC that largely favored the services, the head lawyer at the Copyright Office threw down the pretenses and became employed as a lobbyist for Spotify. Another went to work for the National Association of Broadcasters to screw artists our of a performance right for sound recordings. Can’t wait to congratulate current Copyright Office staff on their employment futures after we get through this important reup for the MLC, Inc. and the lobbyists. I hear the chief butterfly killers have openings for copyright lawyers trained on the public purse.

The comment period in this vitally important review is divided into at least two parts: The special people, i.e., The MLC, Inc. quango and the DLC get to go first, and then the hoi polloi (that’s you and me). You’ll find this language buried at the very bottom of the Reup notice:

Interested members of the public are encouraged to comment on the topics addressed in the designees’ [i.e., the DLC or the MLC’s] submissions or raised by the Office in this notification of inquiry. Commenters may also address any topics relevant to this periodic review of the MLC and DLC designations. Without prejudice to its review of the current designations, the Office hopes that this proceeding will serve as an opportunity for any songwriter, publisher, or DMP who wishes to express concerns, satisfaction, or priorities with respect to the administration of the MMA’s blanket licensing regime to do so, and that any designated MLC or DLC will use that feedback to continually improve its services.

Bite your tongue now.