Every four years, winter sports take the world stage during the Winter Olympics, and figure skating is no exception. But the sport also made the news for recent copyright infringement issues, with several skaters running into problems procuring the necessary licensing permissions to compete with their chosen music.
Figure skating routines are choreographed to music, and until recently, figure skaters were not allowed to use music with lyrics for their programs. As a resul,t they pulled heavily from a library of classical music, most of which is public domain.
But in 2014, the International Skating Union relaxed the rules and allowed skaters to choose music with lyrics. While this opened up a host of new artistic choices for the figure skaters, it also meant they were now drawing on a modern repertoire of music that is not public domain.
With the use of modern pop music, skaters now have to jump through a series of hoops to receive the necessary licensing to use the music. Not only do they need performance rights, but there are also licenses needed for the venue to play the music, for the broadcasters to air it and even different licenses if the performance is recorded and posted online. International competitions, such as the Olympics, add another level of complications.
Amber Glenn, an Olympic figure skater, recently came under fire for not reaching out to an artist for permission to use his song for her free skate. Seb Mckinnon, who produced the song “The Return,” was never asked for permission to use his music.
Instead, he was surprised to hear his music while watching the Olympics, writing on social media platform X, “So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine. It aired all over the world… what? Is that usual practice for the Olympics?”
Glenn is not the only skater to run into copyright issues. Spaniard Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté encountered difficulties just before the Olympics began. Normally, he skates to a mix of songs from the movie “Minions” while dressed as one of the iconic yellow characters.
However, Universal Studios waited until the last minute to approve the music for international competition, leaving the skater uncertain if he would be able to compete until shortly before his event.
Amber Glenn cleared up the issue with the artist, receiving the necessary permission to continue skating to the music before competing again at the Olympics. McKinnon responded that he was not trying to cause controversy with his comment, but rather that it is important to him that the rights of artists are respected and observed, and he was honoredthat Amber Glenn chose to skate to his music.
Other artists have not felt the same way, with the band Heavy Young Heathens suing an American pairs team for using their cover of “House of the Rising Sun” at the Beijing Olympics without proper licensing. Ultimately, it is an artist’s right whether or not to allow others to use their music.
Copyright laws allow artists to control distribution, reproduction and generate revenue from their work. If copyright laws are not observed, artists would be unable to collect royalties to support themselves and foster further creative work.
