Fulfilling the Mandate: The MLC’s Legal Roadmap for Distributing Unclaimed Blank Royalties – 10/28/26
On October 28, 2026, the Copyright Society of the South recently welcomed a packed house of members and their guests to the headquarters of The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) in Nashville for an insightful continuing legal education (CLE) luncheon presentation.
The event featured Rick Marshall, General Counsel for The MLC. Marshall delivered an in-depth presentation detailing the organization’s congressionally mandated plan to begin distributing remaining unclaimed accrued blanket royalties starting in April 2027.
Backed by key operational milestones—including over $5 billion in royalties processed and a 94 percent match rate for 2021 usage—Marshall explained how The MLC will allocate these remaining funds on a monthly pro rata basis using actual distribution data. He also highlighted essential tools like the Unclaimed Accrued Royalties Dashboard, which is designed to ensure complete transparency for songwriters, composers, and publishers.
The Copyright Society of the South extends its sincere appreciation to The MLC team for their generous hospitality.
About the Guest Speaker: Rick Marshall serves as General Counsel at The MLC, where he leads its in-house legal team and coordinates the organizations internal and external legal matters. Before joining The MLC, he was a senior member of Warner Music Group’s recorded music catalog legal affairs team and represented WMG on the recording industry’s union contract negotiating committee and in regulatory policy related initiatives. Rick also served for several years as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of the General Counsel at the United States Copyright Office, where he worked on music-related initiatives that paved the way for the passing of the Music Modernization Act in 2018. Before entering the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law space, Rick served as Senior Staff Attorney to the Chief Judge at Florida’s First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, Florida. He holds a Legal Masters degree in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University Law School and has been recognized by Billboard Magazine as a Top Music Lawyer and included in Variety’s list of Music Legal Elite.
About The Copyright Society of the South
The Copyright Society of the South was formed in 1988 in Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of music publishers, attorneys, music industry personnel, and academicians interested in the field of copyright law. Its mission is to provide a forum for study and discussion of domestic and international copyright law and other matters pertaining to the entertainment industry. It provides seminars, speakers, presentations, and the opportunity to present various points of view on subjects of interest to the membership. The Society refrains from taking a lobbying role or endorsing or sponsoring political positions or candidates.
Members are accepted into the organization by board vote. If you are interested in joining the Copyright Society of the South please send an email with your resume/bio/CV to copyrightsocietyofthesouth@gmail.com .
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