Music Royalty Collection Society Nepal (MRCSN) is Nepal's authorized collective management organization for performing and mechanical rights, established in 2007 under the Copyright Act 2059. Based in Kathmandu, it licenses music to broadcasters, venues, hotels, and digital platforms across Nepal and distributes royalties to its members quarterly. It operates under CISAC and WIPO Connect standards and maintains reciprocal agreements with 127 sister societies worldwide. It is best suited for Nepali composers, lyricists, and publishers whose music is performed or broadcast within Nepal.
How MRCSN Works
MRCSN operates under four mandates defined by Nepal's Copyright Act 2059 and its 2007 instrument of incorporation: licensing, royalty distribution, rights documentation, and member welfare.
Licensing: MRCSN issues blanket and per-use licenses for FM radio, television, hotels, restaurants, retail stores, live venues, and digital services across Nepal. License categories include broadcast (radio and television), public performance (venues and retail), background music (hotels and airlines), and digital (streaming and user-generated content platforms).
Royalty Distribution: MRCSN distributes royalties quarterly, directly to members' bank accounts with statements. Distributions are backed by cue-sheet matching, fingerprint data, and reciprocal agreements with 127 sister societies worldwide. Royalty types collected include performance royalties, mechanical and streaming royalties, synchronization royalties, and foreign income via CISAC.
Rights Documentation: Members register works to international standards. Each accepted work is assigned an ISWC via WIPO Connect and pushed to the global CIS-Net repertoire. MRCSN also manages IPI base and name numbers, split-sheet management, and dispute resolution workflows.
Member Welfare: Beyond royalties, MRCSN provides legal aid for infringement cases, hardship and funeral grants, health micro-insurance, and continuing education through workshops and masterclasses.
Real-World Example
A Nepali songwriter registers 15 compositions with MRCSN. Each work is assigned an ISWC through WIPO Connect and published to the CIS-Net global repertoire. A Kathmandu FM station plays 6 of those songs in a given quarter under an MRCSN blanket license. Two hotels in Pokhara hold MRCSN background music licenses, and a domestic streaming platform reports usage of 10 songs.
MRCSN collects license fees from all three sources. The FM station's cue sheets are matched against the songwriter's registered works. The hotel fees are allocated based on reported usage. The streaming platform's usage reports are processed and matched to the catalog.
The songwriter receives a quarterly royalty payment directly to their bank account, proportional to the logged performances, minus MRCSN's administrative costs. If the same songs are played on radio in India, MRCSN's reciprocal agreement with IPRS means IPRS collects those royalties and remits them to MRCSN for distribution.
Why It Matters for Independent Artists
If you are a Nepali songwriter, composer, lyricist, or publisher, MRCSN is the authorized organization in Nepal that collects performance and mechanical royalties on your behalf. Without MRCSN membership, you earn nothing from public performances of your music in Nepal, regardless of how often it gets played on radio, in venues, or on streaming platforms.
Register your works with MRCSN before they are publicly released. Each registered work receives an ISWC through WIPO Connect and is pushed to the global CIS-Net repertoire, which means your works become discoverable by PROs worldwide. Include accurate split information, ISRC codes, and correct metadata to ensure royalties are matched to your account.
MRCSN's quarterly distribution schedule means you receive payments four times a year, directly to your bank account. The society also offers member welfare benefits including legal aid for infringement cases, hardship grants, and health micro-insurance, which go beyond what most PROs provide.
If you are an international artist whose music is performed in Nepal, your home PRO should have a reciprocal agreement with MRCSN. Ensure your works are registered with your home society so they can claim royalties from MRCSN on your behalf.
Potential Drawbacks
MRCSN was established in 2007 and is a relatively young CMO compared to organizations like ASCAP (1914) or PRS for Music (1914). Its monitoring systems, digital infrastructure, and licensing coverage may not yet match the sophistication of longer-established PROs. Some performance data may rely on sampling rather than census-based tracking.
The Nepali music market is smaller than Western markets, which means total royalty pools are lower. A songwriter with the same number of radio plays in Nepal will earn less than one with equivalent airplay in the United States or United Kingdom due to differences in license fee revenue and market size.
MRCSN's online portal and self-service tools are still developing. Members may need to rely on direct communication with MRCSN staff for certain operations rather than fully digital workflows.
Territory Covered
MRCSN covers the territory of Nepal. It licenses music users across all districts of Nepal, including FM radio, television, hotels, restaurants, retail stores, live venues, and digital services operating within Nepali territory. Through reciprocal agreements with 127 sister societies worldwide, MRCSN also administers international repertoire within Nepal and enables Nepali members to collect royalties when their works are performed abroad.
How to Join and Membership Fees
MRCSN membership is open to composers, lyricists, and publishers who hold rights under Nepal's Copyright Act 2059. The application process is fully online:
- Complete the online application on the MRCSN website with identity documents and rights affiliations. A one-time fee of NPR 1,650 (approximately 12 USD) is required.
- Verification takes up to 7 working days. Upon verification, the applicant receives an IPI base number from CISAC and a permanent MRCSN-FM-XXXXX Member ID.
- Register works by logging into the member portal and entering the split sheet for each work. MRCSN requests an ISWC from WIPO Connect and pushes the work to the CIS-Net global repertoire.
Members must register their works before they are publicly released. Include accurate split information, ISRC codes, and correct metadata to ensure royalties are matched to the correct account.
Overhead Rate
MRCSN's administrative overhead rate is not prominently published on its website. The society deducts administrative costs from collected royalties before distribution. Contact MRCSN directly at info@mrcsn.org or (+977) 01-4770289 for current overhead rate information.
Royalty Distribution Schedule
MRCSN distributes royalties quarterly (four times per year). Domestic and international royalties are distributed directly to members' bank accounts, with detailed statements available in the member portal. Distributions are backed by cue-sheet matching, fingerprint data, and reciprocal agreements with 127 sister societies worldwide.
As of 2026, MRCSN's Q1 through Q3 distribution window opens in June, with royalties collected from TikTok, the transport sector, radio stations, hotels, and both domestic and international sources. The society is also introducing a facility that allows members to transfer accumulated royalties directly into their own bank accounts at a time convenient to them.
Reciprocal Agreements
MRCSN maintains reciprocal agreements with 127 sister societies worldwide through CISAC and WIPO Connect standards. MRCSN has been a provisional member of CISAC since 2008. These agreements enable MRCSN to:
- Represent international repertoire in Nepal
- Collect royalties for Nepali members when their works are performed abroad
- Push registered works to the global CIS-Net repertoire, making them discoverable by PROs worldwide
Notable reciprocal agreements include those with IPRS (India), ASCAP (United States), BMI (United States), PRS for Music (United Kingdom), JASRAC (Japan), and COMPASS (Singapore). When a Nepali songwriter's music is played on radio in India, MRCSN's reciprocal agreement with IPRS means IPRS collects those royalties and remits them to MRCSN for distribution.
Notable Members
MRCSN's membership includes composers, lyricists, and publishers across Nepal. Notable members and board figures include:
- Suresh Chandra Adhikari - Chairman of MRCSN
- Sagar Pandey - Chief Executive Officer of MRCSN
- Badri Pandey - General Secretary of MRCSN (appointed September 2021), Nepali songwriter and lyricist with over 150 songs, chairman of the Music Producer Association of Nepal
- Shiba Subedi - Board Member of MRCSN, Nepali lyricist and songwriter known for "Gham Jasto Chamkilo Jun Hudaina"
- Sambhujeet Baskota - Prolific Nepali composer with music for over 355 feature films and over 2,000 modern songs, folk songs, and bhajans
- Karna Das - Nepali musician, singer, and songwriter, regarded as one of Nepal's most respected artists
- Narayan Rayamajhi - Nepali composer, lyricist, film director, and producer with over fourteen dozen folk songs
Comparison Table
| Feature | MRCSN (Nepal) | IPRS (India) | MACP (Malaysia) | FILSCAP (Philippines) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territory | Nepal | India | Malaysia | Philippines |
| Founded | 2007 | 1969 | 1989 | 1977 |
| CISAC Member | Yes (2008, provisional) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Overhead Rate | Not publicly disclosed | ~25% | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Join Fee | NPR 1,650 (~12 USD) | Contact IPRS | Contact MACP | Contact FILSCAP |
| Distribution Frequency | Quarterly | Quarterly | Periodic | Periodic |
Videos
Similar PROs
- IPRS - Indian Performing Right Society, India's PRO
- MACP - Music Authors' Copyright Protection, Malaysia's PRO
- FILSCAP - Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- CASH - Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong
Related Resources
- Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
- Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
- Collective Management Organization (CMO) - How CMOs operate globally
- Blanket License - The licensing model used by MRCSN and other PROs
- MRCSN Official Website - Visit MRCSN for membership and licensing information
- Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital performance earnings
