Ferrick v. Spotify USA Inc.

Claiming works through the MLC Portal instead of the Future Royalty Payments Program Website offers class members significant advantages, including the following:

• The MLC Portal permits class members to obtain mechanical royalties from all digital music providers, including Spotify;
• Class members who do not claim their works through the MLC Portal cannot count on being paid by the MLC for usage on Spotify from January 1, 2021 onwards;
• Class members who do not claim their works through the MLC Portal may be missing an opportunity to collect royalties for streaming by all providers;
• Under the Music Modernization Act, royalties for usage on Spotify that occurs after January 1, 2021, must be claimed from the MLC Portal;
• The MLC Portal permits class members to obtain both ongoing royalties and royalties dating back to when the MLC last redistributed royalties for unmatched works to other copyright owners (which is not expected to occur until 2024 or later);
• Class members who use the MLC Portal to claim their works do not need to submit a Spotify-only claim through the Future Royalty Payments Program Website; and
• Spotify will assist class members who have claimed works not subject to a dispute using the MLC Portal but have been unable to receive royalties (click here to contact a special liaison provided by Spotify).

If, despite the significant advantages of claiming works through the MLC Portal, you still would like to claim works through the Spotify-only Future Royalty Payments Program Website, further information on the Future Royalty Payments Program Website is set out below.

Please Note: If you submitted a valid claim for your works through the Future Royalty Payments Program Website on or before December 31, 2020, your information concerning works not subject to a dispute has been provided to the MLC. If you submitted your works through the Future Royalty Payments Program Website on January 1, 2021 or later, then your information has not been provided to the MLC.