A blanket mechanical license grants permission to use any music from an entire specific catalog in exchange for a fee. Historically, blanket licenses were issued in situations where granting music licenses for individual works would be too time-consuming – for example, a PRO may issue a blanket license to a radio station allowing the station to use any song from the PRO’s catalogs. The blanket license consolidates and simplifies the licensing process.
The Music Modernization Act (MMA) establishes a blanket licensing structure for digital service providers (DSPs). The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) will administer and issue a blanket digital audio mechanical license to DSPs for interactive streaming, permanent downloads, and/or limited downloads.