Music Clearance Requirements

USEF is committed to complying with music clearance regulations and facilitating compliance by all athletes / stakeholders.  To this end, USEF has entered into a partnership with ClicknClear to manage the music licensing process and to verify and secure licenses for music used at the event, including for broadcast. Each athlete is responsible for ensuring their music is properly licensed working in conjunction with USEF and ClicknClear for performance.  USEF is responsible for the broadcast distribution costs.

For many years, copyright laws, rules and guidelines have been in place globally to protect literary and artistic works, including songwriters and music artists. Non-compliance with copyright laws could  have serious detrimental legal and financial consequences for USEF and you as an athlete.  There have been several cases where sports organizations suffered detrimental consequences due to failure to secure  music rights clearance.

ClicknClear is a music rights tech company based in London/Great Britain. ClicknClear solves the complex music licensing issues for choreographed sports accompanied by music such as the dressage freestyle. It is backed in its mission to protect both the users of music and its creators by music industry record labels and publishers.
ClicknClear offers:

• Music license verification software for sports administrators to enable them to check music submissions and licenses for copyright infringement, and
• A large and growing catalogue of official music industry tracks with all the copyright licenses needed for athletes to easily and cost-effectively license the rights they need.

For more details, please refer to the following link: https://www.clicknclear.com/about-us.

How to Secure Music Rights with ClicknClear

USEF is collecting music information and audio files via ClicknClear’s License Verification System. The purpose of ClicknClear’s system is to help the USEF manage the Music Accompaniment rights / licenses for athletes. Each athlete has access to this platform (details below) where the music data must be correctly completed for all athletes wishing to compete at the Event.

Athletes must complete the required fields for each music title composing the athlete’s freestyle. The music titles should be listed in the order sequenced for the athlete’s freestyle. If the music has been specially commissioned or adapted, all the details of the individual / entity commissioned for such task must be provided. The information requested below is also necessary for any music (considered) in the public domain. If it is a remix composed of several songs, the details of each song used must be provided.

The information must be fully completed via ClicknClear per the event’s information. A combination’s invitation and entry to an event may affected.

The music rights verification process is as follows:

1. To access the Event for music submission, select USEF.clicknclear.com.
2. You will be required to create a free account, if you are not already a ClicknClear user.
3. Upon verification of your account, select the link(s) to the event(s) you wish to license music for:
   U.S Dressage Festival of Champions
   US Equestrian Open Dressage Final
4. Upload. This is where you will submit the music accompaniment audio together with all relevant music license agreements and supporting information. Athletes are responsible for ensuring that the uploaded information is always up to date.
   For more in-depth information with screenshots on how to do this, please visit www.clicknclear/participant-lvs-guide. A video tutorial is also available here.
5. Select the License Source:
   ClicknClear – License(s) purchased from ClicknClear
   Bespoke Music (original music specially commissioned – excluding mixes)
   Public Domain – music out of copyright
   Other – any other source of music, including mixes
    
6. Depending on the License Source selected, you will be required to upload an audio file, the proof of license in original PDF format, and additional information
   Title
   Enter the title of the exact song or piece of music version within an album or compilation.
   Artist(s)
   Enter the name of the performer(s) or band or orchestra.
   
   The following information will be automatically populated by the system:
   Duration
   Writer / Arranger
   Record label / owner of recording
   Year first released
   Writer(s)/owner(s)
   Publisher(s)
    
7. Submit the information.
8. The system will provide a license verification result:
   Green = Licensed
   Yellow = Unverified
   Red = Unlicensed

For technical support, please contact [email protected].

Music Accompaniment Licenses Required.

The following Music Accompaniment rights / licenses are required:

• The right to edit or adapt music into a mix, if more than one song is being used. This includes combining tracks together, changing the tempo, adding sound effects, voiceovers, etc. Please keep in mind that this license is not standard in music copyright and not available from collecting societies in ‘performing rights’ and needs to be specifically cleared.
• The right to set choreography to the music, often referred to as a ‘Grand Right’, which is the right to perform musical compositions and recordings within the context of a “dramatic work” or choreography.
• The right to create any copy of the music that may be needed for training and competition purposes, also known as ‘mechanical rights’.

For music to be fully cleared for these uses, these rights need to be cleared for each and every track used in each mix that contains a licensed (backed by a warranty and legal indemnity) for appropriate territory(s) that cover both the master rights of the recording artist and the publishing right of each individual writer and composer of the track.

Legal Options for Music Licenses.

There are several means for which you can legally use or create a music mix to accompany your freestyle performance:

1. For each compliance with the above-mentioned requirements, it is recommended to use commercially released or production music from the USEF approved licensing provider (USEF.clicknclear.com). Subject to the music being available for the country where it will be used, it may be licensed instantly.  
2. Use complete original music (specially commissioned) written and / or recorded by a composer and / or artist. If you do this, please ensure you have contractually obtained the relevant rights required. ClicknClear’s License Verification System has an online form that your composer / artist can use to confirm the rights they have granted you.
3. Use music out of copyright (otherwise known as music in the public domain). To be noted that the duration of copyright varies in each country so you MUST check your local copyright law.
4. Secure a license directly from the owners of the music. In some situations, ClicknClear may be able to assist in the clearance of music not currently available on the ClicknClear platform. However, please note this route will be significantly more expensive, may take significant time, and there is no guarantee of a positive outcome.

USEF thanks all athletes / stakeholders for their commitment to music copyright compliance and its ongoing developments and associated educational initiatives.

Should there be specific questions or concerns related to copyright laws, all athletes / stakeholders are encouraged to consult with ClicknClear ([email protected]) and/or a music or copyright attorney.