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# Tax return shows six-figure MLC salaries as songwriters wait for $565M in unpaid royalties
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/tax-return-shows-six-figure-mlc-salaries-as-songwriters-wait-for-565m-in-unpaid-royalties/
- Published: 2023-02-08T14:32:48.000Z
- Updated: 2023-02-08T14:32:53.000Z
- Description: Our friends at The Trichordist found the 2021 tax return for The Mechanical Licensing Collective, including what it pays its executives. Led by $665,307 for CEO Kristopher Ahrend, the staff. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2023/02/tax-return-shows-six-figure-mlc-salaries-as-songwri
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: Copyright Law, Music Business, mechanical license collective, MLC, music, music industry, musician, musicians, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 09:44

Our friends at The Trichordist found the 2021 tax return for The Mechanical Licensing Collective, including what it pays its executives.

Led by $665,307 for CEO Kristopher Ahrend, the staff salary reveal comes at a time when the *non-profit* corporation approved by the federal Copyright Royalty Board is holding on to more than $565 million in unpaid “black box” royalties.

“We’re not going to point out the disparities in this little list but..,” wrote the [Trichordist](https://thetrichordist.com/author/thetrichordist/?ref=hypebot.com). “We can’t help but wonder how many songwriters make anything like these salaries?”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3a/95/3a957c06-c825-4057-9939-0a274cc16d23/content/images/thetrichordist-files-wordpress-com/2023/02/image-w-897.png)

**See the full return [here](https://www.hypebot.com/content/files/www-themlc-com/hubfs/Marketing/Website/mlc-finance%5Fform990-2021%5Fceosigned.pdf).**

**Bruce Houghton* is the Founder and Editor of [Hypebot](https://www.hypebot.com/) and [MusicThinkTank](http://www.musicthinktank.com/?ref=hypebot.com), a Senior Advisor at [Bandsintown](https://www.bandsintown.com/?ref=hypebot.com), President of the[ Skyline Artists Agency](https://skylineonline.com/?ref=hypebot.com), and a professor for the [Berklee College Of Music](https://online.berklee.edu/courses/touring-101?ref=hypebot.com).*