In response to a recent influx of questions surrounding music licensing, US Equestrian provided an update to their membership regarding USEF’s licensing and broadcast responsibilities, given the management of music rights is a very complex and relevant matter.  

As it has since 2001, USEF continues to provide its competition organizers with access to the longstanding music licenses with the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) for music coverage of live event performances. ASCAP and BMI offer an extensive library of music which can be used by competition organizers and USEF competitors during live performances. It is important to note that not every song is available in the library, and competitors should be aware not all music is licensable. Additional licensure for broadcast and promotional purposes remains separate from the live event performance licenses and are not included with the live event performance license. 

Importantly, USEF has secured a global blanket license from Warner Chappell, which includes both public performance and broadcast/promotional licenses when selecting compositions from their owned library of music. USEF competitors and competition organizers can access this library at no cost to select their music. For more information on the Warner Chappell library, please visit here. 

The Significance of Broadcast Licensing for Music

Without securing the appropriate broadcast licensing for music, USEF cannot publish any form of unlicensed music without the risk of music copyright infringement, which carries severe penalties and potential fines.  

For freestyle events live streamed on USEF Network, such as the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions and US Dressage Finals, freestyle music must be muted to comply with the strict licensing rights for broadcast and promotional use, which also includes content posted to social media.  

For events like the US Equestrian Open Dressage Final, USEF committed significant investment in building broadcast exposure for the dressage freestyle competition and expanding mainstream distribution, which included live streaming, on-demand and linear broadcast plays, as well as airtime on ESPN platforms. In instances at the Final where USEF could not obtain licensing for a competitor’s music, licensed music was substituted and used for broadcast and streaming purposes only.  

If you have questions about music licensing for competition and broadcast, please contact the USEF Dressage Department at [email protected].