The Mechanical Licensing Collective has partnered with the Recording Academy to host a dozen webinars across the country to educate chapter members of the MLCs mandate to match and distribute unpaid royalties to rights holders.
Each webinar will be tailored to a specific market, including Nashville, New York City and Los Angeles, and will be hosted by MLC representatives who will give a full rundown on the importance of the new agency, which recently made its first distribution of mechanical royalties to rights holders.
"We are thrilled to work with the Academy on this webinar series, which builds on our ongoing efforts to reach as many potential MLC Members as possible, provide them with the information they need to join our organization and help position themselves to receive the digital audio mechanical royalties they have earned and deserve," said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC.
Added Daryl P. Friedman, chief advocacy officer of the Recording Academy: "Academy members were so active in passage of the Music Modernization Act, they should now benefit from The MLC that the Act created. We're pleased to partner with The MLC to reach our membership of creators far and wide and ultimately get royalties into their hands."
The first webinar took place on Tuesday (May 4) for Memphis members, while across the state in Nashville an event is slated for May 17. Academy members will receive a registration link in advance of their local webinar. See the full list below:
Memphis Chapter / May 4
Nashville Chapter / May 17, 2 p.m. CT
Chicago Chapter / May 25, 11:30 a.m. CT
San Francisco Chapter / May 25, 5:30 p.m. PT
Philadelphia Chapter / May 26, 4 p.m. ET
New York Chapter / June 8, 12:30 p.m. ET
Pacific Northwest Chapter / June 15, 3 p.m. PT
Texas Chapter / June 16, 3:30 p.m. CT
Los Angeles Chapter / June 16, TIME TBD
Florida Chapter / June 23, 12:30 p.m. ET
Atlanta Chapter / July 29, 2 p.m. ET
Dave Mustaine has chosen to bring Megadeth to an end after completing one final tour due to ongoing health challenges.
The band plans to step away next year once they wrap up their farewell run and release their final album. Frontman Dave, 64, has now shared that he reached this decision because arthritis and issues with his back have left him “unable to give a hundred per cent every night”.
Speaking on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Dave said, “It had been building up for a long time, just physical things happening with my hands … My hands were starting to fail me.
“And there were other difficulties tied to everything going on with my neck and my trunk. That whole area has arthritis and some bulging discs.
“I have a fractured lumbar bone. And of course, my back has been fused near my shoulders and neck. There is just a lot going on …
“I always said that when the time came where I could no longer give a hundred per cent each night, that would be the moment I would start thinking about slowing down.”
He continued by sharing that the choice became clear after the band completed recording their final self-titled project.
Dave explained, “It was not that I couldn’t give a hundred per cent, because we finished the album and I feel we did well with it, but while we were working I had a moment where I told my manager … ‘I am not sure how much longer I can continue. My hands are really hurting.’
“I did not intend to set things in motion. I was just talking, but it led to conversations with the band, then taking time to reflect, speaking with my family, and praying about it.
“And the answer was obvious to me that by the time the album was finished, I would know how it would perform. If it does really well, I can still deliver one final strong tour.
“And the idea of a farewell feels connected to that. We have certain shows we want to play so we can say goodbye to the people who have supported us.”
Dave added, “We are an American band, but we perform all over the world. We are not weekend performers like some country acts in the States. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to say goodbye the right way.”
The band’s seventeenth studio album, Megadeth, will arrive in January, and their This Was Our Life tour begins in Canada in February.
