Mechanical Licensing Collective FY2023 filing

Not tax-deductible

Nashville, TN501(c)(6)Since 2019EmploymentEIN 84-2642688Revenue $84.7M in FY2023

On file with the IRSthemlc.com333 11th Ave S Ste 200, 37203-5219 · Nashville, TNTax-exempt since Aug 2020

This page gets seen. Tell your story. Claim this org.

Administer Mechanical licenses and process royalties for songwriters and music publishers, maintain musical works copyright ownership database and educate the public.

$5.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(6)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
No
Donations are not tax-deductible
Worth a look: the IRS does not list gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $10.6M a year · 18% of revenue · last 5 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 5 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Pay to officers and key staff
$5.0M
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.3 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Liabilities
$1.2B
97% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 97% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
14
of 14 voting members
Looks good: 14 of 14 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$84.7M
+90% vs prior year
Spent
$70.6M
Net assets
$32.7M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$84.7M
FY2023▲ +90%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$22.8M
FY2021$31.0M
FY2022$44.6M
FY2023$84.7M
FY2024$111.3M
Expenses
$70.6M
FY2023▲ +62%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$14.6M
FY2021$26.5M
FY2022$43.5M
FY2023$70.6M
FY2024$86.2M
Net assets
$32.7M
FY2023▲ +229%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$12.8M
FY2021$15.4M
FY2022$10.0M
FY2023$32.7M
FY2024$61.4M

From the FY2023 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Aug 2020.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Who runs it and what they're paid

30 people listed on the 990; $5.0M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$785,055Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Technology Officer
$525,189Pt VII · Sec A
$518,288Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Mktg & Ext Aff Officer
$392,686Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Legal Officer
$373,954Pt VII · Sec A
Head of Rights Management
$285,276Pt VII · Sec A
Head of Analytics & Automation
$252,057Pt VII · Sec A
Chief People Officer
$251,426Pt VII · Sec A

Kris Ahrend’s $816K as CEO is at the 85th percentile of top reported officer pay among 34 $100M+ employment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Kris Ahrend$815,740————
Kristopher Ahrend—$785,055$664,383$665,307$624,962
Ilene Weintraub$558,252$518,288$465,946$432,593$99,846
Richard Thompson$558,064$525,189$195,041——
Ellen Truley$459,400$392,686$336,094$341,724$265,127
Kristen Johns$173,863$373,954$364,625$330,506—
Lindsey Major$307,567$247,946$217,089$201,123$103,954
Maurice Russell$291,548$285,276$275,350$261,202$259,688

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Mechanical Licensing Collective executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Something off? The org can add a note here. Request edit privileges.

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Collects mechanical royalties for songwriters and publishers, managing copyright data and educating the public.

Provided by the organization

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

1 program · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Administration of blanket mechanical licenses to digital music providers (DMP'S); collection, matching, and distribution of royalties received from DMP'S; continued planning and implementation for license and royalty administration operations; work on regulatory measures to support license and royalty administration operations; industry…

Pt IX · col B

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$84.7M
Ln 12
Investment incomeLn 3$51.8M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$32.9M
Money outPt IX
$70.6M
Ln 25
Owns and owesPt X
$32.7M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$7.7M
Total assetsLn 16$1.2B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.2B
PeoplePt VI, VII
30
listed · VII A
PaidVII A15
Voting boardVI 1a14
IndependentVI 1b14
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Fees for servicesLn 2g$32.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$51.8M
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$84.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$0
SavingsLn 2$7.7M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$7.7M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.21B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.1M
Other assetsLn 15$4.6M
Total assetsLn 16$1.2B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.2B
Net assetsLn 32$32.7M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 585
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$138.8M$7.7M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$804.6M$1.21B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.3M$1.1M
Total assetsLn 16$954.0M$1.23B
LiabilitiesLn 26$944.1M$1.20B
Net assetsLn 32$10.0M$32.7M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$4.2M
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$7.9M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$212K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$548K
Payroll taxesLn 10$857K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$1.7M
Accounting feesLn 11c$356K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$60K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.0M
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1.2M
Office expensesLn 13$435K
Information technologyLn 14$11.7M
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$667K
TravelLn 17$448K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$478K
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$1.5M
InsuranceLn 23$580K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$35.7M
Total functional expensesLn 25$70.6M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $111.3M$86.2M$25.1M$61.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $84.7M$70.6M$14.1M$32.7M 990 PDF
FY2022 $44.6M$43.5M$1.1M$10.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 $31.0M$26.5M$4.6M$15.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $22.8M$14.6M$8.2M$12.8M 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $84,657,502 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $0$0
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $29,355,000$32,900,000
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $15,281,158$51,757,502
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $44,636,158$84,657,502
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $10,860,382$13,782,186
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $32,649,288$56,803,934
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $43,509,670$70,586,120
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $1,126,488$14,071,382
Part VI · Governance 14 of 14 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body14
VI-1b Independent voting members14
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $84,657,502 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$0
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $32,900,000$32,900,000
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $51,757,502$51,757,502
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $32,900,000 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $51,757,502$84,657,502
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $70,586,120 across 30 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staff$4,230,975
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wages$7,933,912
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$212,113
IX-9 Other employee benefits$548,144
IX-10 Payroll taxes$857,042
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$1,709,733
IX-11c Accounting fees$355,929
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$60,000
IX-11g Other fees for services$2,006,272
IX-12 Advertising and promotion$1,180,955
IX-13 Office expenses$434,871
IX-14 Information technology$11,719,148
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$666,966
IX-17 Travel$448,341
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$478,363
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$1,463,859
IX-23 Insurance$580,007
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)$35,699,490
IX-25 Total functional expenses$70,586,120
Part X · Balance sheet $1,229,445,353 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $0$0
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $138,750,322$7,744,155
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $0$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $790,893$981,491
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $0$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $475,893$637,489
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,297,696$1,147,691
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $804,555,579$1,212,282,220
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $0$0
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $0$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $3,028,125$2,066,482
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $5,142,098$4,585,825
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $954,040,606$1,229,445,353
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $910,224$1,283,469
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $0$0
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $6,964,097$5,335,956
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $936,214,765$1,190,123,917
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $944,089,086$1,196,743,342
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $9,951,520$32,702,011
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $0$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $9,951,520$32,702,011
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $954,040,606$1,229,445,353
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $32,702,011 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$84,657,502
XI-2 Total expenses$70,586,120
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$14,071,382
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$9,951,520
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$8,679,109
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$32,702,011

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.