WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU OFFER?
We offer a number of different licenses that work together to cover the full spectrum of rights needed for performance sports and fitness, ranging from teams and athletes or fitness professionals using tracks in a music mix for their routine, to TV broadcast of competitons:
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a standard EULA which deals with editing and adapting a track, choreographing a routine to it, making up to 35 copies
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an add-on to the standard EULA that allows online sales of video for training purposes
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a separate license for the livestream of events for competition organisers / online channels and services
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a separate license for the video on demand / broadcast of events for competition organisers / online channels and services
We use these in combination to cover the needs of each particular use - we are happy to advise on the best combination of licenses to solve your needs, please contact us directly about such uses through our website.
Please note that we do not yet have all uses cleared for all tracks with our rightsholders, this is an ongoing process and we are updating things continuously. Please check on music.clicknclear.com using the rights filters to check the current position.
Our standard EULA is the foundation for right grants, and covers performance sports teams / athletes and fitness professionals wanting to use a track in their routine individually or as part of a music mix:
The license covers both master rights (Recordings) and publishing (Compositions) of the track, and allows:
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a download of the track from our platform
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a team or their music producer editing and adapting and combining the track into a mix including cutting down, tempo shifting and adding sound effects and voice over
and for the team / fitness professional:
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putting choreography to the track alone or as part of a Mix
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performing the choreographed routine to the track alone or as part of a Mix
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up to 35 people associated with the team to use the track in the resulting Mix for training and preparation purposes
Please note:
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the rights above are subject to any rights managed by any collecting society in the relevant territory (for example the venue where the Routine is performed needs a BMI or ASCAP license in the US, or a PPL PRS license in the UK, or equivalent in the applicable country), i.e. the venue you perform the routine in still needs a performing rights license to play music as normal.
WHAT TYPES OF USE ARE NOT COVERED?
You can only use the music as permitted in the standard EULA for the purposes of making a mix and performing a sports or fitness routine to that mix, in the country it is licensed for and for the term of that license.
Example uses of the music that are excluded are:
“DJ re-mixing” of any Recording or Composition for commercial release and / or DJ sets;
incorporation of Recordings, Mixes or Videos onto any tangible medium;
sponsorship of videos or the placement of adverts in videos (although this does not prohibit the appearance in the video of sponsored elements of sports teams apparel, kit etc., or sponsorship of any event at which a performance takes place);
The sale or making available of any Recording, Mix or video, in any form (including without limitation tangible or digital) in return for money or money’s worth in connection with the licensed use and permitted purpose.
Recordings and Mixes covered by the EULA may not be manufactured for sale (digitally or physically), or otherwise exchanged for money or money’s worth in connection with the licensed use or permitted purpose.
In general any use connected with commercial sale or exploitation or in return for payment or payment in kind is excluded, and requires a further license from us. Specifically sync uses such as a DVD memento, livestream, video on demand archive or television broadcast are NOT covered by our standard EULA. We are able to grant additional licenses to rights for further commercial use for each track for such video uses - please see the 'WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU OFFER" FAQ.
Use of the track (e.g. in a mix, routine or video) in the context of facilitating / promoting any one or more of the following activities: illegal activity (including infringing any third party intellectual property, name and likeness, and/or privacy rights), promoting violence and/or discrimination, pornography, tobacco, vaping and alcohol, political positions or candidates, religious causes, firearms, sexual or reproductive health personal hygiene products, and to defame, damage goodwill or be inconsistent with the image and reputation of the copyright owners of the recordings and compositions in our tracks.
(N.B. the definition of Prohibited Activities in the EULA. has a full list)
WHAT DOES A CLICKNCLEAR ACCOUNT ALLOW ME TO DO?
To create an account go to the top right of this page and click Sign Up.
When you create an account on ClicknClear, you’ll be able to listen to our music and, depending on the account you have, you’ll be able to download the music to test in your mix before licensing it.
Because we offer streaming of tracks and free trial downloads for music producers to test tracks out before purchasing a license, our licenses are entered into instantly online after purchase and we cannot offer returns or refunds of licenses.
WHY DO I NEED TO LICENSE MUSIC?
When you stream a track, or download a music file or buy a CD, you don’t ‘own’ the music, you just have the right to listen to it privately. You aren’t even allowed to make a copy of it.
Any piece of music is owned by its creators; i) the people who wrote the song and ii) the artist(s) who record each version of that song (whether a worldwide hit or an anonymous cover version).
Writers and artists are allowed to control what happens to their creation and charge money to allow others to use it. Using music without the writer’s and artist’s permission is an infringement of worldwide copyright law and you will be liable for damages.
For more information see our short introduction video to music copyright [2 minute watch]:
Music copyright applies in EVERY country worldwide – international copyright systems are held together through the Berne Convention and the Rome Convention. It is NOT ‘just a problem in the USA’.
Copyright violation is an act of primary infringement, so a defence of ‘no knowledge’ or ‘benign intent’ is not valid and the infringing party can be sued.
WHO OWNS THE RIGHTS TO MUSIC?
The copyright of any piece of music is owned by its creators.
THERE ARE TWO MAIN 'SIDES' OF COPYRIGHTS IN MUSIC
MASTER RECORDING
The artist(s) who record each version of that song (whether a worldwide hit or an anonymous cover version) own rights in the sound recording of their version.
These are called ‘master rights’ (from the days when master versions were used to mass reproduce physical copies on vinyl, cassette tape or CD).
PUBLISHING
The people who wrote the song control the musical composition of the song: Lyrics, melody, etc.
These are called ‘publishing rights’ (from the days when publishing physical sheet music was very popular).
Normally several writers have a % share in each song.
You MUST get a license from ('clear') ALL owners before you can legally use music.
BOTH Master AND Publishing sides.
MORE INFORMATION ON PUBLISHING
Writers typically use music publishing companies to administer their rights on their behalf.
The artist’s rights are typically represented by their record labels.
Publishing is usually more complicated, as there is normally more than one writer of a song.
On average in 2018 there were 9 writers on each hit pop song.
In general each writer is represented by a different publishing company.
Each writer will own a certain percentage of the song depending on their contribution to the writing process.
In order to license music you need a license from EVERY rightsholder.
As an example, consider the ownership of Beyoncé's Run The World (Girls):
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There are 7 deals, 1 Master and 6 Publishing, needed to get the rights to Run The World (Girls).
Even if just one of these deals is not in place, you do NOT have the right to use the track, regardless of how much (or little) of the track you intend to use.
WHAT RIGHTS DO I NEED?
HOW DO I GET MUSIC LICENSES?
The traditional way:
For EVERY track you want to use, you will need to research all the songwriters and artists, and contact them individually.
In the Beyoncé example above, even if you got Beyoncé's permission and 5 of the 6 writers, but one writer said ‘no’,
then you CANNOT use the track.
The music industry is set up to do large scale deals. So it’s not normally cost effective for each owner to respond to small individual requests.
All in all it’s a very difficult job, and even more so if you are not a music licensing expert with a big budget.
A better way:
Wouldn’t it be great if someone had already done ALL the deals for you?
And aggregated demand across the world to provide both the Master and Publishing rights you need to create and use a mix for just $15 or $25 per track, per mix*?
That’s what ClicknClear has done!
*standard EULA only, further commercial rights available via additional licenses
CAN I USE COVER MUSIC?
Making a cover of someone else’s song means the person making it will own the MASTER rights of their new version of the recording.
But the PUBLISHING rights of the original song still need to be cleared with the ALL the writers of the original song, via licenses.
A license to a cover track MUST include BOTH the publishing AND master rights before it can be used for a sports mix.
Please carefully check that the license from your cover music provider offers all necessary PUBLISHING rights as well as the rights in their cover master recording - including adapting, editing and putting choreography to a track as well as copying for training - before using the cover version, and gives you an indemnity that those rights are provided (a legal promise to pay your costs if there is any problem).
THERE ARE TWO MAIN 'SIDES' OF COPYRIGHTS IN MUSIC
MASTER RECORDING
The artist(s) who record each version of that song (whether a worldwide hit or an anonymous cover version) own rights in the sound recording of their version.
These are called ‘master rights’ (from the days when master versions were used to mass reproduce physical copies on vinyl, cassette tape or CD).
PUBLISHING
The people who wrote the song control the musical composition of the song: Lyrics, melody, etc.
These are called ‘publishing rights’ (from the days when publishing physical sheet music was very popular).
Normally several writers have a % share in each song.
You MUST get a license from ('clear') ALL owners before you can legally use music.
BOTH Master AND Publishing sides.
HOW DO I GET MUSIC FROM CLICKNCLEAR?
Songs can be found using the search bar or by clicking “Search Music” and using our filters.
Our curated Playlists are also a great way to sort through songs by category.
You can license songs individually or create playlists and then add them all to your cart.
Once you have found the perfect piece(s) of music, simply check out and you will receive the EULA by email - a legal agreement stating you have paid for the song and are allowed to use it in the conditions established.
If you are using the tracks in competition it is recommended that you bring a printed version of the EULA document with you, to prove that you have properly obtained permission to use the music in your performance.
HOW DO I GET MUSIC FROM CLICKNCLEAR?
Songs can be found using the search bar or by clicking “Search Music” and using our filters.
Our curated Playlists are also a great way to sort through songs by category.
You can license songs individually or create playlists and then add them all to your cart.
Once you have found the perfect piece(s) of music, simply check out and you will receive the EULA by email - a legal agreement stating you have paid for the song and are allowed to use it in the conditions established.
If you are using the tracks in competition it is recommended that you bring a printed version of the EULA document with you, to prove that you have properly obtained permission to use the music in your performance.
All your licenses are stored safely and securely in the License Hub area of our website for when you need them.
HOW LONG DO CLICKNCLEAR LICENSES LAST?
Our standard EULAs are for one (1) year.
After the EULA expires you will need to re-license the track if you want to continue to use it in the mix.
We make this easy for you to do.
WHERE CAN I USE CLICKNCLEAR MUSIC?
Music is licensed for use on a country-by-country basis.
When you license music from us, you will be asked to select one country - with an optional second country - or all available countries.
We also offer top-ups that add extra countries to your existing license (lasting up to 6 months) so you can always add one or more countries (subject to availability*)
We make this easy for you to do.
Typically we have been able to negotiate favourable rates for you with rightsholders for additional countries.
* Please note that sometimes different rightsholders are responsible for the same rights in different territories, so our ability to offer licenses in specific countries depends on our rights holder deals.
Please select the country(s) carefully when licensing your music, it may affect your ability to take part in specific competitions.
WHY DON'T PERFORMING RIGHTS COVER WHAT I DO?
Performing rights licenses are confusingly named.
They just give the venue the right to 'perform' music (play music in public for people to listen to).
The rights you need for a sports mix are NOT covered.
You need specific rights to do one or more of the following:
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perform a choreographed live routine which is accompanied by a music mix.
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edit and adapt each track in the mix: trim it down, tempo shift, combine with other tracks and use with voice overs and sound effects.
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copy and share the mix with all team members for practice.
All of which needs permission - from ALL the owners (master and publishing) of EVERY track you use in your mix.
IF I AM NOT IN THE USA WHY DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Music (and other) copyright laws apply in EVERY country worldwide. It is NOT 'just an issue in the USA'.
Our music rightsholders operate internationally and are very aware of infringement on a worldwide basis.
This applies to both publishing (songwriters rights in compositions) and master rights (the recording artist's rights; with regard to both the unlicensed use of the original artist's work, and copy-cat cover versions being used in place of those originals).
International copyright systems are held together through the:
Berne Convention (writers rights), and
Rome Convention (artists rights).
CAN I RE-USE OR SELL ON MY TRACK OR MIX?
Re-Use: Not unless you re-license the music or have explicit permission to do so.
Sell On: No.
Tracks are licensed specifically for your use for the permitted purpose of the license, i.e. to create a mix and perform routines to it.
The music itself is not 'sold' to you - you do not own it.
Normally licenses are for a term of one year.
After the term of the license has ended, you cease to have any rights to use the track. You will need to relicense it if you want to use it beyond the term of the original license.
Under the terms of our, or any other similar license agreement, you do not own the track, and therefore you are not allowed to re-sell the track / license or the mix containing it once you are finished with it. The track would need to be fully licensed from us by any other person / team.
CAN I USE VIDEO OF MY ROUTINE WITH THE MIX AS THE SOUNDTRACK?
You cannot use the track and the mix it is part of for any commercial use.
If as a team / team member decide to make available (on a non-commercial basis) videos of your routine with the mix playing on Facebook, YouTube or other social media channels you personally control, then that will be subject to the monetisation and/or takedown rules of those channels as operated by each Copyright owner of the Track (both the Recording and the underlying Composition) in their absolute sole discretion.
The vast majority of our rightsholders are happy for you to use tracks you license from us for your mix in this way and will choose to monetise it rather than issue a take-down notice, but it is not something we can guarantee. It could also be subject to change in future for example if the rightsholder changes their policy, or the rights are assigned to a new rightsholder with a different policy, or there is a legal dispute regarding the track.
Our standard EULA does NOT include sync uses such as a DVD memento, livestream, video on demand archive or television broadcast.
We are able to grant additional rights for commercial use in such cases to the person wishing to commercially exploit video incorporating the track as part of a mix - please contact us directly about such commercial uses through our website.