Music copyright is a huge issue in cheer right now and Chantal Epp is on a mission to solve it.
Music copyright has been a big issue in cheerleading for a while. Gone are the days you can download a track from the web and mix it at home.
But… are they? Chantal started ClicknClear in 2016 after noticing the rising costs for great music in cheerleading. With her background in both music licensing (her ‘day job’) and cheer (she’s a flyer and on the board of the ParaCheer International charity), she realized she could make a difference. And that’s exactly what she’s doing.
The most important aspects of copyright licensing to Chantal are making sure artists and writers get paid for their work, and cheerleaders get access to great, affordable music they can use with total confidence.
“All our tracks are cleared by both the artist and the song’s writers to edit, mix, choreograph a routine to AND share a video of the routine - with music! - on social media. Mixing with ClicknClear tracks either yourself or with a music producer means you use great music directly from the music industry and have confidence that you won’t be infringing copyright. We want gyms to be able to share their hard work, and also to show others outside the industry what we’re all about. Social media sharing with officially licensed music is a great way to do that.” —Chantal Epp
ClicknClear have already done over 90 deals with the music industry’s record labels and publishers, with many more always in the pipeline - great new music is being released on the site every week. This week OMI’s hit ‘Cheerleader’ (not a cover, the real thing!) is waiting for you to license for $25 per mix, along with thousands of other tracks already available.
To get these licenses, Chantal and her team work to make sure they clear the rights from all stakeholders before each track goes live on the website. It’s not as simple as just calling Beyoncé to ask to use a track, it’s clearing it with the writers of the song too. Any given track can have 15 entities or more that you need to get a license from!
So, what’s a gym to do? Get on the website and access thousands of pre-cleared tracks, ready for use for a small licensing fee of $15 or $25 per track, per mix. That’s what!
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