To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is launching a new initiative designed to engage current and prospective Spanish-speaking members of the organization.

The new “El MLC en Español” initiative aims to provide readily available Spanish-language resources to individuals and groups.

It was developed by Dae Bogan, The MLC’s Head of Third-Party Partnerships and is a result of a collaboration between Take Creative Control Latin, Protege Tu Música TV, LLC (Protect Your Music TV, LLC), Songwriters of North America (SONA) and several other organizations. 

“The Latin music genre has experienced tremendous growth on digital platforms in recent years and as a result, we recognize that there is a real need to raise awareness among Spanish-speaking music creators about The MLC and how our organization can help them,” said Bogan in a press release. 

The initiative will take place the week of Sept. 27 and feature the launch of comprehensive informational materials and assets about The MLC in Spanish, as well as two webinars hosted by The MLC and the initiative’s partner organizations. 

“Dae has done a wonderful job putting this important initiative together for The MLC, and I’m so grateful for the participation of our partners,” said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC, in the press release. “This initiative is a great example of how The MLC is putting its commitment to diversity into practice, in a way that will provide meaningful benefits to our Members.”

Assets to be unveiled during “El MLC en Español” is a Spanish-language landing page on The MLC website and a Spanish-language “explainer” video that broadly introduces viewers to the concept of digital audio mechanical royalties and the existence of The MLC and includes a call-to-action to become a Member of The MLC. 

Additionally, The MLC will make available a new Spanish-language toolkit developed for organizations that represent Latin music creators, which will include social media graphics, the Spanish-language “explainer video,” a flowchart-style diagram that breaks down the U.S. digital music royalties landscape in Spanish and marketing materials from the initiative’s two webinars.

“I have had the privilege of partnering with leaders from the Latin music community who are working to promote and advance the interests of Spanish-speaking creators on similar initiatives in the past. Their feedback and expertise have been invaluable in shaping this initiative, which exemplifies The MLC’s strong commitment to listening to, and working with, every segment of the community of rights holders that we serve,” added Bogan.

The first webinar, presented by The MLC and SONA, will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. The session will be hosted by Stephanie Santiago-Rolón, Director of Take Creative Control Latin, who will lead a conversation with two multi-faceted Latina music creators — Colombian-American singer-songwriter-producer-engineer Dahlia Lagos and Costa Rica-born singer-songwriter Dani Blau — and take questions from participants. 

The second webinar — Understanding and Collecting U.S. Digital Mechanical Royalties — will take place on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. Host Yira Santiago, CEO & Entertainment Attorney of Protege Tu Música TV, LLC will lead a discussion on the U.S. digital music royalties ecosystem for Spanish-language songs and how creators can collect those royalties, with panelists Katerine Albert (Human Resource Generalist at The MLC), Henry Alonzo (Board Member at The Gospel Music Association), Alexandria Davila (CEO at Adarga Entertainment Group) and Mauricio Maestre (Entertainment Lawyer at M&M Lawyers, Colombia). 

“El MLC en Español” is the latest component of The MLC’s ongoing efforts to connect with all rightsholders who may be eligible to receive digital audio mechanical royalties from the organization for the use of their music by digital service providers (DSPs), and educate those individuals and groups about the new landscape of mechanical licensing following passage of the Music Modernization Act of 2018, the scope of The MLC’s work and the benefits of becoming a Member.

The MLC is a nonprofit organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to the historic Music Modernization Act of 2018.