Cheer music licensing explained

 

Hi guys,

Cheer music licensing is so confusing correct? We got speaking to Click and Clear to help educate you so you don’t have to panic when it comes to your cheer music.

Hi Click and Clear tell us a bit about yourselves 

Hi CFHTT

 “we are music industry licensing professionals.  We believe artists deserve to be compensated for their creations. We are also performance sport athletes, coaches and judges. We want the sports we love to thrive. The use of unlicensed music threatens that. We want awesome, affordable, 100% legal music for everyone”

 

Why do I have to license music?

In a word: copyright.  Copyright is a law that says two things:

 

1. If you create something, then you own it, and
2. As the owner, you can decide what happens to it.

 

If you want to mix music and make copies of it, choreograph a routine to the mix, play the mix at training, at home or at competitions or show videos of your performance by uploading to YouTube and social media, then you require a license.

 

People rightly need to be paid for their work when they create a track. That’s where licenses come in.  When you buy music through iTunes or stream music on Spotify, you are paying to listen to artists like Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift, but that purchase is only for personal use and does not cover the rights to do anything else, like edit the music or put choreography to it. So when you want to use music in any other way than its original intention of being listened to, different rules apply. 

 

But do we really have to use licensed music?

Saying ‘I’ve been doing it for years, it’s fine’ just won’t cut it and is not valid in a court of law.  Similarly, you may think that other teams aren’t licensing music or that Event Producer’s aren’t enforcing it, but that doesn’t mean using unlicensed music is ok and you won’t get caught.  As cheer grows in popularity around the world, more people are paying attention to what we are doing – including the music we use. Being in the spotlight is great and just what our industry needs, but not if teams are misusing music and overlooking music licensing.

 

So what’s the solution?

There are several options for legal cheer music.  Let’s run through them:

1. Use bespoke music – this is completely original music where producers work with artists to write music for your mix. This is often the most expensive option but great for teams wanting music specifically related to them.
2. License already released music direct from the music industry through a platform such as ClicknClear and either have a music producer make you a mix or make your own mix own using free or paid software like Garageband, Audacity, Logic and others.
3. Use pre-made mixes made up of only either original or properly licensed music (including the same rights as required for custom music). This is likely to be your cheapest option but you need to be sure that all the tracks used in the mix have all the required licensed permissions (Master and Publishing). There is of course always the small risk that you turn up to competition and another team has the same mix as you. 
4. Use music that is out of copyright – copyright cover has a limited term that in general expires 70 years after the death of the last living writer. So whilst the music becomes free at that point, you are limited to older music that may not fit the style you are going for.

 

Let’s get technical 

When clearing music for your cheer mixes, there are two main music rights that must be cleared:

1. The Publishing Rights (the copyright in the musical composition, melody, lyrics etc. of a song) and 
2. The Master Rights (the copyright in the specific recording of a song, whether it’s by the original hit artist or an unknown cover version). 

 

If you don’t get approval from ALL rightsholders involved (on average there are 9 writers per song) then you could face a lawsuit.  

 

Let’s take a look at Beyonce’s ‘Run The World (Girls)’

 

 

In order for you to license this song, you would need a license from every one of the owners who have a share of the pie! You’ll need permission from Universal Records to use their master recording of Beyonce’s performance, and also need permission from the publishers who represent the shares in the writing; all SIX of them!

It’s also worth remembering that if you are playing music in your gym or are competing at a venue, the gym owner or entity running the competition will need a performing rights license from the collecting society(s) in your territory. In the US there are a few which include ASCAP, BMI and SESAC and in the UK it is PRS & PPL. Again you need this to cover both Master and Publishing rights.

 

What about cover music?

Making a cover of your favourite track will mean the producer has the Master rights to their new version of the recording.  But the Publishing rights of the original song’s writers still exist.

Whoever makes the new cover recording does not own the publishing rights to adapt the song and put a choreographed routine to the song etc. meaning if you want to use cover music you still need to get permission from the publishing side.

 

A very simple way to know if you are covered is to check your license to see whether your music provider offers BOTH master and publishing right, or just master rights.

 

Any questions?

We know there is a lot of confusion surrounding cheer music and how to comply with the rules, and let’s face it, music licensing and copyright law can be confusing, but don’t forget that we all have an obligation to use music properly and legally.  So if you have any questions, please drop us an email at info@clicknclear.com and they will do their best to respond or join the Using Music in Cheerleading Facebook Group and join the conversation.

 

Want to collaborate with us contact cheerfromheadtote@gmail.com