All-Star Usa Cheer New Music Rules..

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You have to understand, it is no longer legal to use music from major artists unless you want to pay the $5,000 a song for rights.

It is not 'I can't believe they are making us do this'.
It is:
I can't believe we got away with using illegal music for so long.
 
When you're a micro gym with teams of 8-10, it's $80-100 per kid. We're not all D1.

I get it, I started at a small gym too. And I feel for the small gyms, the rec teams, and the school teams with this. But $100 per kid for music is still not that bad. In the entirety of cheer, it's a drop in the bucket.

As unfortunate as it is, this ruling will make the price of music go up if you want a half decent mix. At least until the music side of the industry gets back on its feet. The little producers will be forced out of business because they cannot produce their own original music. People go to them because they are cheap. They can't be cheap anymore. If they can't produce their own music, they have to buy liscencing, which isn't cheap. There will be less producers. There will be a surplus of demand and not nearly enough supply so price is going to go up on that alone. I see $800 being the low end now for a sub par mix.

The music rules are going to have to force smaller gyms to either
1. be creative with finding quality music
2. lower the quality of the music they'll use
3. budget your families' expenses to make up for the cost of the music in other places. Like instead of custom practice wear, you hand out a plain colored t-shirt and a black pair of soffe shorts. Not even Nike Pros. You don't make your families order Nfinities, they buy cheap white sneakers from a cheaper supplier. There are a million ways to cut costs. And if the families can't afford it then they can't afford it and they will have to quit.

I don't mean to be blunt but cheer is not for everyone. Not everyone can afford it. And the industry has been pricing families out for years. Large gyms offer more bang for a family's buck and they will continue to grow bigger and bigger while small gyms will continue to close/be bought out left and right. This has been the pattern for years.
 
As a coach I can honestly say I do not know what to do. I coach an entire youth rec program. I feel like this is going to cost even more money than anticipated.

Who is going to monitor this, who is going to be like uh no sorry you have Taylor swift, here's your lawsuit.

It's honestly stressful as hell.
Wtf are high school teams going to do lol

I don't know what you're paying now, but I know of at least one music producer (IPP) who has already released prices for next years and will be partnering with a cover song provider. Customers will be able to choose songs from their list of covers.

http://www.ippmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IPP-Policies-and-Procedures-2016-2017.pdf

Some producers (including the one above) also offer premade mixes that you can customize with custom voiceovers.

This is going to be more of an issue for those who mix their own music than it will be for existing producers.
 
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I get it, I started at a small gym too. And I feel for the small gyms, the rec teams, and the school teams with this. But $100 per kid for music is still not that bad. In the entirety of cheer, it's a drop in the bucket.

As unfortunate as it is, this ruling will make the price of music go up if you want a half decent mix. At least until the music side of the industry gets back on its feet. The little producers will be forced out of business because they cannot produce their own original music. People go to them because they are cheap. They can't be cheap anymore. If they can't produce their own music, they have to buy liscencing, which isn't cheap. There will be less producers. There will be a surplus of demand and not nearly enough supply so price is going to go up on that alone. I see $800 being the low end now for a sub par mix.

The music rules are going to have to force smaller gyms to either
1. be creative with finding quality music
2. lower the quality of the music they'll use
3. budget your families' expenses to make up for the cost of the music in other places. Like instead of custom practice wear, you hand out a plain colored t-shirt and a black pair of soffe shorts. Not even Nike Pros. You don't make your families order Nfinities, they buy cheap white sneakers from a cheaper supplier. There are a million ways to cut costs. And if the families can't afford it then they can't afford it and they will have to quit.

I don't mean to be blunt but cheer is not for everyone. Not everyone can afford it. And the industry has been pricing families out for years. Large gyms offer more bang for a family's buck and they will continue to grow bigger and bigger while small gyms will continue to close/be bought out left and right. This has been the pattern for years.
Again, this. Let's see how many people will pick option 3.

@Ashley I wonder whether this will lead to more people creating choreography for music instead of the other way around.
 
^^^I agree with the idea of changing where money goes. It's a legal thing. It reminds me of the talks I've had with my young adult children about car insurance. They're always complaining that it's too much and they just can't possibly come up with that money. There's no choice...like the rest of the responsible adults, they need to budget and figure it out. Pay for insurance first and then pay for new hats. Cheer gyms are going to have to treat legal music in the same way. Music and insurance and lease payments and employees and THEN decide how much they can expect their customers to be able to pay for rhinestoning and fancy practicewear. Will they do things that way? No clue. But for business survival and growth, I think they'll have to figure out a way.
 
I get it, I started at a small gym too. And I feel for the small gyms, the rec teams, and the school teams with this. But $100 per kid for music is still not that bad. In the entirety of cheer, it's a drop in the bucket.

As unfortunate as it is, this ruling will make the price of music go up if you want a half decent mix. At least until the music side of the industry gets back on its feet. The little producers will be forced out of business because they cannot produce their own original music. People go to them because they are cheap. They can't be cheap anymore. If they can't produce their own music, they have to buy liscencing, which isn't cheap. There will be less producers. There will be a surplus of demand and not nearly enough supply so price is going to go up on that alone. I see $800 being the low end now for a sub par mix.

The music rules are going to have to force smaller gyms to either
1. be creative with finding quality music
2. lower the quality of the music they'll use
3. budget your families' expenses to make up for the cost of the music in other places. Like instead of custom practice wear, you hand out a plain colored t-shirt and a black pair of soffe shorts. Not even Nike Pros. You don't make your families order Nfinities, they buy cheap white sneakers from a cheaper supplier. There are a million ways to cut costs. And if the families can't afford it then they can't afford it and they will have to quit.

I don't mean to be blunt but cheer is not for everyone. Not everyone can afford it. And the industry has been pricing families out for years. Large gyms offer more bang for a family's buck and they will continue to grow bigger and bigger while small gyms will continue to close/be bought out left and right. This has been the pattern for years.
You're right cheer isn't for everyone, which is darn shame because we all know the benefits that come from being part of team where there isn't a sideline to sit on. I will keep on providing affordable services for the families in my area, even if it means performing to Kyle Blitch 8 counters. Why? Because teams shouldn't be judged on their music, the amount of rhinestones or name on their uniform, or who shows the most skin. In the end it should be the team that goes out and slays their routine in difficulty, technique and performance. Parents shouldn't have to have a second or third job to allow their child to cheer, nor should they have to spend a full year of college tuition for a season of cheer.
I have nothing against large gyms. Most of them started out small. However, cheer shouldn't only be an option for the top tier tax brackets.
 
^^^I agree with the idea of changing where money goes. It's a legal thing. It reminds me of the talks I've had with my young adult children about car insurance. They're always complaining that it's too much and they just can't possibly come up with that money. There's no choice...like the rest of the responsible adults, they need to budget and figure it out. Pay for insurance first and then pay for new hats. Cheer gyms are going to have to treat legal music in the same way. Music and insurance and lease payments and employees and THEN decide how much they can expect their customers to be able to pay for rhinestoning and fancy practicewear. Will they do things that way? No clue. But for business survival and growth, I think they'll have to figure out a way.
What? You mean they may have to choose between 3 new uniforms in a year and obtaining music legally? Say it isn't so! Obviously I am being sarcastic but there are so many extras in cheer (yes, even at the small gyms) these days that could easily be "sacrificed". I mean we all love a special new outfit for summit or worlds and multiple sets of practice wear... but really? Take one 2-day comp off the schedule or forgo the new warm ups.
In the industry I used to be in we dealt with music limitations decades ago. Cheer has been lucky to escape the rules for as long as it has.
 
My issue with the whole situation is that of USA cheer saw this coming they should have made the rule in January for May or earlier so at least teams and I am thinking of micro and rec teams could decide what they want to do, plan and also see if it may mean unfortunately that the venture may not be feasible anymore. This means parents could also look for options if gyms decide to close.
If I am honest I left cheer just at the right time I am waiting for English cheer to go the same route as they haven't yet
 
My issue with the whole situation is that of USA cheer saw this coming they should have made the rule in January for May or earlier so at least teams and I am thinking of micro and rec teams could decide what they want to do, plan and also see if it may mean unfortunately that the venture may not be feasible anymore. This means parents could also look for options if gyms decide to close.
If I am honest I left cheer just at the right time I am waiting for English cheer to go the same route as they haven't yet
I can't imagine they didn't see this coming for a long time! If I were to wager a guess...they were hoping to find some sort of a loophole in the rules (being that this is cheer and all and the industry is good at that ;) ) As others have previously said, the fact that they got away with this for so long is really amazing!
 
Cheer is an expensive sport. It always has been and it will continue to be. I think that before we know the actual pricing of new music and what it will cost for a quality piece, it's hard to determine what gyms will have to "eat." I don't foresee them making excessive cuts since the parents are the ones running the money side of it anyways. Many parents understand that cheer is a hefty financial commitment... and what's another 100$ in the scheme of 6,000 if Susie still looks super cute on stage in her bling and new uniform?
 
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