Indi Chawla Head of International Relations The Mechanical Licensing Collective Indi Chawla is the Head of International Relations for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC). Based in London, Chawla is responsible for coordinating with international rights holders to maximize the collection of mechanical royalties by The MLC on behalf of international CMOs, publishers and songwriters, influencing data quality and developing strategies for data validation and distribution, and helping to identify and address any operational challenges facing international Members. Widely respected among the international music publishing community, Chawla has more than twenty years of experience in the music business. She began her music industry career in 1994 as a Royalty Assistant for Polygram Music Publishing and from then on, progressed in the ranks to senior management positions for both major and independent publishers covering all aspects of rights administration. Most recently, Chawla consulted for the world’s first integrated licensing and processing hub ICE, on the company’s new copyright platform, “Cube.” Chawla advised on the management of conflicting work claims from creation to resolution and worked with stakeholders to align on a set of common policies and workflows. Previously, Chawla spent nearly a decade leading Warner Chappell’s Global Copyright Team. In her role as Worldwide Copyright Manager, Chawla spearheaded highly efficient and standardized registration practices across the company’s network. In addition, she led her team to successfully launch an enhanced copyright registration module for the company’s new rights management system and significantly contributed to several international publisher and society working groups with the aim of developing industry best practices around the management of music publishing data. Chawla earned an M.A. in Economics from Manchester University, a B.A. (Hons) in Economics and History from University of the West of England and a Diploma in Quantitative Economic Methods from London School of Economics. She is passionate about music and travel and is a keen cyclist.
