Methodology

Glossary & sources

Compartment status codes

In the pipelineoperational_pending: Looks like black box, usually isn't: still inside the normal processing cycle.
Unmatched usageunmatched_usage: Usage can't yet be linked to a musical work.
Unclaimed sharesunclaimed_ownership: Work identified, but an ownership share has no payable claimant.
Payee can't be foundpayee_unlocated: Owner known, but can't be located or paid.
Disputeddisputed_held: Withheld while ownership or entitlement is contested.
Expirednon_distributable: Holding period over; ready to leave via a chute.
Sealedundisclosed: Contents not publicly disclosed — which is NOT the same as empty.

Holding period: How long the society keeps unresolved money before it becomes non-distributable and leaves through an exit chute.
Claim deadline: How long a member has to claim money they missed (e.g. PRS back-claims, SOCAN's 1-year concert evidence). Not a holding period.
Adjustment window: How long a distribution can be corrected after the fact (e.g. ASCAP adjustments, the AMCOS General Control Account's 3 years).
Payment delay: The normal gap between collection and payment (e.g. GEMA ≤9 months, SACEM 3–12 months). Money in this gap is pipeline, not black box.

exact: The source reports the category directly.
mapped: A local label clearly maps to the category after interpretation.
proxy: A broader measure that includes pipeline money.
non-comparable: The policy makes a balance meaningless (e.g. US PROs with no set-aside).

Only published figures and rules are used; no balances are invented for societies that don't publish them.
Amounts are never added across currencies, or across pipeline and unresolved categories.
Unknown values show as "Not publicly disclosed", never zero.

The MLC dashboards and recaps
U.S. Copyright Office MMA materials
German VGG (Verwertungsgesellschaftengesetz)
French CPI Art. L324-14–17
Italian D.Lgs. 35/2017
Transparency reports and distribution rules from GEMA, SACEM, SIAE, APRA AMCOS, PRS, SOCAN, JASRAC, ASCAP, BMI, STIM, BumaStemra, SGAE, KODA, KOMCA, SUISA

Data as of October 2026