The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has filed legal action against Pandora seeking unpaid royalties and late fees due under the compulsory mechanical blanket license that allows the music streaming platform to reproduce and distribute musical works in the U.S.

The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Nashville, claims that Pandora has underreported and underpaid mechanical royalties from the operation of its ad-supported Pandora Free option.

The action by MLC notes that Pandora Free is an interactive service under the law, which requires mechanical royalties for all streaming activity. The suit claims that Pandora has only reported a portion of the activity and refused to report and pay mechanical royalties for the rest of the activity.

“The MLC has worked closely and tirelessly with blanket licensees to ensure their compliance with the compulsory license terms. Our team repeatedly sought to resolve this issue directly with Pandora, but Pandora has refused to correct their reporting or royalty payments,” MLC CEO Kris Ahrend said in a release. “The MLC is the only entity that has the statutory authority under the Music Modernization Act to take legal steps to enforce the obligations of streaming services. We have brought this action to ensure that our members receive all the mechanical royalties they are due in connection with the use of their songs by Pandora on the Pandora Free service.”

The MLC is seeking corrected usage reporting and associated unpaid royalties and late fees for periods dating back to Jan. 1, 2021, along with an order requiring compliance going forward.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective was created as part of the Music Modernization Act, which was signed into law six years ago. The nonprofit, designated by the U.S. Copyright Office, collects royalties from music streaming and download services for songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers.

A mechanical license is an agreement between a streaming provider and the owners of a copyrighted song that grants permission to release the song in an audio-only format, such as an interactive audio stream or digital download. It generally does not affect the broadcast radio industry, other than when it offers streaming music services beyond station simulcasts, such as iHeartRadio.

Last month, the MLC announced audits of Amazon Music, Apple Music, Music Choice, Pandora, Slacker Radio, Spotify, Tidal, and iHeartRadio, among others. In addition to offering hundreds of radio stations, the iHeartRadio platform catalogs millions of songs, which is why it is included in the audit.

It’s believed that the suit against Pandora is the first levied by the MLC.