AEW Legal Counsel Reveals Complexities of Securing Licensed Music for Events

Christopher Peck, the legal mind behind All Elite Wrestling (AEW), recently delved into the intricacies of securing licensed music for wrestlers' entrances. Several AEW talents have been spotlighted walking down the aisle to famous tracks, such as Sting making his appearance at All In to Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" or Orange Cassidy's weekly entrance to "Jane" by Jefferson Starship.

During his appearance at Starrcast, Peck opened up about the often complex process of gaining permission to use famous songs for TV broadcasts and pay-per-view events. One highlight he mentioned was acquiring the rights to a Rolling Stones song when MJF returned to AEW at the Double or Nothing 2022 event:

"The one that I was most proud of that we got cleared was the Rolling Stones song. That was one where the firm came back to me and said, 'Tell Tony we’re not getting this, it’s not happening.’ 'No, we’re gonna go for it.’ This is a firm that works with the NFL and other organizations. ‘Listen, it’s been 30 years I’ve been doing this, we’re not getting it.’ We went through the process and the approval came through. I’ve never seen Tony so happy. His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree."

Another memorable moment for Peck was securing the rights to "Final Countdown":

"Final Countdown was another one. That was one we went back and forth and were working with the rights holders. When that came through, just as a wrestling fan, that was a cool moment," Peck shared.

Peck also touched on the time-sensitive nature of these negotiations:

"An example for this past week, I flew in on Friday (before AEW All In) and got a request at five eastern for a song for Sunday. That’s not going to happen, it’s two days from now."

He further described the stressful last-minute approval for The Elite's new entrance theme:

"Kansas, for The Elite, that was one where I was getting calls and texts during the show trying to chase it down. We had an alternate track. I don’t think we had it locked in until the show was in progress."