Taking Care of Mechanical Rights

Representing and protecting music rights for 100 years

Just as mechanical reproduction has evolved over the years, so has our organisation. As we enter our second century, we’re relaunching our brand to better reflect our business and ambition. A proud member of the MPA Group, we protect the value in our members’ repertoires as they are reproduced mechanically.

With every reproduction, the power of the work gets greater, and we work to help our members amplify their impact and their returns.

Why we exist

MCPS collects and distributes mechanical royalties for music publisher, songwriter and composer members, alongside our network of global affiliate societies, when their music is reproduced in any format.

For over 100 years, we have represented mechanical rights holders, protecting and licensing their rights as their works are reproduced worldwide: whether via streaming, downloads, broadcast, international, vinyl/CD/DVD and more.

Mission

Vision

Values

Deliver maximum revenues to members in as fast, accurate and cost-effective a way as possible.

Maximise reproduction opportunities and promote the value of music for its creators.

As a uniquely publisher-owned rights management entity, we are:

Creator First
Transparency Focused
Pro-innovation
Inclusively Minded
Collaboratively Spirited
Service Orientated

The History of MCPS

1910

1924

1976

1998

2013

2023

2024

1910

Mecolico, the Mechanical Licenses Company was the first society to license mechanical rights in the UK.

1924

Mecolico subsequently joined with the Copyright Protection Society (CPS) to form MCPS. Together, they were innovative in collecting mechanical royalties from mass-produced discs.

1976

The Music Publishers Association (MPA), the trade association for music publishers in the UK, became the owners of MCPS. This union established MCPS as the only publisher-led collection society globally, which is still true to this day.

1998

MCPS co-formed the MCPS-PRS Alliance with the Performing Right Society (PRS).

2013

A dissolution of the MCPS/PRS alliance and a restructuring of the MCPS business model led to the introduction of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the companies. The first SLA laid the foundations for the new relationship between the organisations.

2023

For the 4th consecutive year, MCPS grew its membership and distributed £188.4 million, the highest amount paid in 15 years.

2024

As MCPS celebrates its centenary in 2024, the organisation remains steadfast in preserving its heritage as the mechanical collection society of choice for the music publishing and creator communities.

MCPS has now distributed over £4 billion to publishers, songwriters and composers this century and paid out £204.3 million of mechanical royalties in 2023.