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Universal Music Group has signed a global licensing deal with rights technology platform ClicknClear.
Amid the excitement of the Winter Olympics in Italy, this agreement with ClicknClear opens up UMG’s repertoire to accompany choreographed routines in sports such as figure skating, gymnastics, artistic swimming, dance, dressage and jump rope, among others. ClicknClear works with event producers such as the International Olympic Committee.
While sporting venues generally clear the public performance of music at events, there has previously been no online platform offering athletes a route to obtain the rights required to use music in choreographed routines.
With more than 150 million athletes participating in choreographed sports worldwide, there is a multi-billion-dollar demand for music licensing from the global athletic community, according to ClickNClear.
ClicknClear delivers officially licensed music to sports that use music to accompany their routines worldwide for both in-person events and, increasingly, livestream and video-on-demand services.
With this new deal, ClicknClear now offers athletes access to the world’s largest recorded music catalogue, further bolstering existing licensing agreements spanning the full breadth of the recorded music industry, including publishing to independent record labels.
ClicknClear also partners with international and national sports federations, such as World Gymnastics, the International Skating Union and the US National Federation of State High School Associations, acting as the approved provider for music licensing and licence verification tools to the entire sporting ecosystem.
We have seen first-hand the demand from athletes for access to UMG’s catalogue, which contains some of the world’s most iconic music
Chantal Epp
Sports federations, which have always required athletes to license music, can use ClicknClear’s verification system to help them check licensing while simultaneously accessing a global pre-cleared catalogue. It means that athletes can easily use music without the risk of infringement.
ClicknClear’s founder and CEO, Chantal Epp, said: “This deal marks further progress in our mission to bridge the gap between the music industry and choreographed sports, including figure skating, gymnastics, artistic swimming and jump rope. We have seen first-hand the demand from athletes for access to UMG’s catalogue, which contains some of the world’s most iconic music, and I have no doubt this news will be welcomed.
“At the same time, the deal provides significant new monetisation opportunities for UMG’s artists who can now benefit from this growing global opportunity.”
Chantal Epp was awarded the Entrepreneur Award at the Music Week Women In Music Awards in 2025.
The collision of sport and music presents meaningful opportunities for our artists
James Healy
James Healy, SVP digital strategy and business development at UMG, said: “The collision of sport and music presents meaningful opportunities for our artists. We are delighted to be working with ClicknClear, whose simple, tech-driven platform solves an unmet need in this space – licensing for choreographed sports. We’re excited for our artists to benefit from this deal which will help them generate new revenue streams and reach new audiences around the world.”
Backed by record labels and music publishers, ClicknClear is the world’s first company to solve the complex music licensing issues in such uses. Its suite of technologies cover rights management, licensing, licence verification and a global video-on-demand licensing solution, which help address copyright infringement, protecting both the users of music and its creators.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation recently recognised ClicknClear with a WIPO Global Award for its exceptional use of innovation, technology and intellectual property to create real-world impact on both music and sports.
As well as working with the International Olympic Committee, ClicknClear collaborates with event producers such as sport governance organisations at international and national levels in sports and performing arts such as gymnastics, figure skating, artistic swimming, dance, dressage, jump rope, cheerleading, indoor skydiving, marching band, colour guard and show choir.
It has also teamed on licensed music use with third-party and owned video-on-demand channels such as FloSports and broadcasting partners of sport governance organisations.
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UMG signs global licensing deal with ClicknClear for choreographed sports – Music Week
