Updated Music In Sport Guidelines from the International Olympic Committee
- ClicknClear
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
The International Olympic Commission emphasizes that athletes must respect intellectual property rights when selecting music for routines to avoid potential lawsuits or bans permission is generally obtained from the rightsholder(s) of the music that is being adapted and / or used in connection with your routine.
They have recently updated their Music in Sport Guidance for Athletes - and we are going to take you on a quick tour!
Identify and clear your music in advance
No one wants to work hard on a routine accompanied by one or more specific piece(s) of music, only to discover later that the music can’t be used.
It is therefore very important to identify and secure licenses for the track(s) BEFORE you re‐arrange, mix or otherwise adapt the music, and use it in connection with your routine, for each country in which you will be using the music.
To do this, you need to know who owns the music. Each piece of music is like a piece of property with multiple “owners”. The composer of the music, the writers of the lyrics and the producer that recorded it may each have a legal right of ownership of the copyright, as well as the recording artists who performed the tracks you are using.
Those rightsholders are usually entitled to decide how the music is used, and to be paid for each use.
If you use an extract from a song/composition or a recording – even of just a few seconds - you have taken a protectable part of the music.
Copyright infringement does not only consist of taking an extract from a recording, it can also occur when you copy or adapt a song / composition (again, even a small part).
You will usually need to clear music from the following set of music rightsholders:
Publishing Rights concern the song/composition and are usually owned/controlled by music publishers. [Note that each song often has multiple songwriters who each control their own share of the composition, and you need permission from each of them.]
Master Rights are the rights in the original sound recording (which is also known as the “master”) and are usually owned or controlled by a record label.
Performer Rights are the rights of the performers in the performances of the song/composition that is embodied in the sound recording. The relevant record label will often have acquired the necessary rights, but in some countries performers’ unions may also expect to charge re‐usage fees.
NEVER use music from User Generated Content platforms such as YouTube
Videos are uploaded by members of the public and therefore may have infringed the rights of the copyright holders.
HOW CLICKNCLEAR HELPS
Large and fast growing catalogue of instantly licenseable music industry tracks.
Each license comes with:
an official download of the track
rights to edit and adapt the music, and use it in connection with your routine, for each country in which you will be using the music (your home country, and any other countries you may perform your routine in)
from all Publishing Rights owners and Master Rights owners (who have also paid up the Performer Rights).
Track requests
If you need to use music that is not available for instant license on our platform, you can request a license from us:
Our team will identify and reach out to the Publisher Rights and Master Rights owners, and provide you with a quote that you can then decide whether to proceed with.
Event Organisers Need Information About What Music You are Using
Checking Your Music Licenses
Event organisers, national and international federations want to ensure you are complying with your obligations, so are likely to ask you to submit your music and associated proof of license for review.
Collecting Your Music Accompaniment for Playback
Central single source so the event production team can playback your music at the event, to avoid the delays and interruptions that can occur if you use your own devices.
Collecting usage and duration information
Event organisers may also have obligations to provide detailed information about the specific music you have used and its duration as part of their licenses for music public performance, livestream, video-on-demand, and broadcast of routines carried out at the event.
HOW CLICKNCLEAR HELPS
A growing number of event organisers, national, and international federations are using ClicknClear’s online License Verification System (LVS) compliance software tool to help them:
Check your music licenses to guard against copyright infringement
Collect your music for playback
Collect usage and duration information about the music you are using, and produce cue sheets for their own music licensing reporting obligations.
Playback music at events
As choreographed sports gain more visibility, the risk around music use increases and the IOC Music In Sport Guidelines are a helpful resource to ensure you are following legal obligations.ClicknClear have a growing catalogue of music for athletes to instantly license, and we can handle requests for music that is not available on our platform
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