Mechanical Royalties

The Mechanical Reproduction Right

Mechanical royalties arise from the reproduction and distribution of musical works (compositions) under the bundle of exclusive rights granted to copyright owners in 17 U.S.C. § 106(1) and § 106(3).

Historically, this meant the mechanical duplication of music onto physical formats (such as player piano rolls, vinyl records, cassette tapes, and compact discs).

Modern Digital Mechanicals In the digital age, the concept of a "mechanical" copy expanded significantly: - Permanent Digital Downloads (PDDs): When a consumer purchases and downloads an MP3 (e.g., from iTunes or Amazon Music), a permanent mechanical copy is saved to their device. - Interactive Streaming: When a user clicks to play a track on demand on Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music, it triggers a temporary server-to-client transmission and local caching of the digital work, which is legally defined as a digital phonorecord delivery (DPD) and triggers a mechanical royalty.

Non-Interactive vs Interactive Streaming - Interactive Streaming (Spotify, Apple Music): Generates both a public performance royalty AND a mechanical royalty. - Non-Interactive Streaming (Pandora Radio, SiriusXM): Does not trigger a mechanical royalty; it only triggers performance royalties (for both the composition and master recording).