Harry Fox Agency (HFA)

In-Depth Explanation

What is the Harry Fox Agency (HFA)?

The Harry Fox Agency (HFA) is the premier mechanical rights organization in the United States. It was established in 1927 by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) to act as an information source, clearinghouse, and royalty compliance organization for the music publishing industry.

While PROs (like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC) collect performance royalties when a song is broadcast or played publicly, the Harry Fox Agency collects Mechanical Royalties when a song is reproduced and distributed.

In 2015, HFA was acquired by SESAC (one of the major US PROs), creating a massive entity capable of handling both performance and mechanical rights licensing.

What Does HFA Do?

HFA serves two primary clients: music publishers (the people who own the songs) and licensees (the people who want to reproduce the songs).

1. For Music Publishers and Songwriters

If a publisher affiliates their catalog with HFA, HFA acts as their administrative agent. When someone wants to record a cover of one of the publisher's songs, or when a record label wants to manufacture physical CDs of the song, HFA issues the mechanical license, collects the statutory royalty rate from the licensee, deducts a small administrative commission (usually around 11.5%), and pays the rest to the publisher.

2. For Licensees (Artists and Labels)

If an independent artist wants to legally release a cover song on a physical CD, they must obtain a mechanical license. Instead of trying to track down the contact information for the songwriter's publisher, the artist can simply go to HFA's online service (called Songfile), search for the song, and purchase the mechanical license for the exact number of CDs they plan to manufacture.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC)

Historically, HFA was also responsible for collecting and distributing mechanical royalties from digital streaming services (like Spotify and Apple Music) in the US.

However, with the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) in 2018, this responsibility shifted. The U.S. government established a new, non-profit entity called The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC).

As of January 2021, The MLC is the sole entity responsible for issuing blanket mechanical licenses to interactive streaming services in the US and distributing those streaming mechanical royalties to publishers and self-published songwriters.

Because of this monumental shift, HFA's role has changed. HFA is now primarily focused on:

• Physical mechanical licensing (CDs, vinyl, cassettes).
• Permanent digital downloads (MP3 sales via iTunes or Bandcamp).
• Sync licensing administration.
• Providing background data and administrative services to The MLC (HFA was actually hired as the primary vendor to build and maintain The MLC's massive data portal).

Do Independent Artists Need to Join HFA?

For the vast majority of independent, self-published songwriters today, joining the Harry Fox Agency directly is not strictly necessary.

If you want to collect the mechanical royalties generated by your original songs being streamed on Spotify, you must register with The MLC, not HFA.

Furthermore, if you sign up for a Publishing Administration service like Songtrust, TuneCore Publishing, or CD Baby Pro, they will automatically affiliate your songs with HFA, The MLC, and all international mechanical collection societies on your behalf.