The field of competitive figure skating is quite unlike any other, a world of quad axels, flashy costumes, and years of preparation that play out in the few minutes allotted for short programs and free skates (long programs). Whether on the ice alone or with a partner, part of what makes each performance unique is the skate music chosen. At this year’s Milan-Cortina Games in Italy, the Winter Olympic skating competitions have highlighted lingering music licensing and copyright issues that have persisted since a major policy change in 2014.
After grabbing headlines and looking like the beginning of an international brouhaha, U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn and Canadian artist and musician Seb McKinnon quickly put a potential music rights spat to rest. McKinnon, who performs as CLANN, created “The Return,” a song Glenn has been using in her program for the past two years. Controversy threatened to rear its head when McKinnon claimed Glenn hadn’t obtained permission to use “The Return” as part of her music after she won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in the figure skating team event.
Fortunately, the issue between Glenn and McKinnon appears to have been resolved quickly and amicably. The specifics are not known at this time, but it is possible that increased recognition or compensation was involved. Regardless, the minor controversy has shed light on the copyright problems Olympians and other skaters still encounter with the music for their programs. While skating organizations insist they’re trying to help, some skaters are still having a hard time getting permission to use the music they want. It may have something to do with the unsettled and murky circumstances swirling around music copyrights these days.
Leaving Classical Music in the Past
In high-level competitions, figure skaters perform in one of two types of programs: short and free (also called long). The short program lasts 2:50 for synchronized skating and 4:00 for free skate. The programs are accompanied by music of the skater’s choice, usually intended to match the tempo and maneuvers of their routine or help tell a story.
In the Winter Games held before 2014, musical copyright issues were less likely to become public disputes. The ISU didn’t permit skaters to use music with vocal performances. Most skaters opted for classical music, which was often in the public domain and thus did not require permission, and obtaining a license when required from the orchestral recording was a little more straightforward. With the ISU easing its rules regarding what types of music could be used in 2014, things became more complicated.
There’s no one way to obtain permission to use music for figure skaters, reflecting the current chaos that defines the music industry. Determining who has the right to grant permission to use a song can be difficult, and compositions owned by multiple people or entities make it even trickier. This is further complicated by some works having different rights holders for different platforms.
Add to the mix that some skaters use a program featuring multiple pieces of music, all of which require permission for use, and it’s easy to see why it’s become a bit of a boondoggle. In the case of “The Return,” McKinnon claims that he, not his record label, holds the rights for all usage of his songs. This may have been the source of the confusion.
Both the International Skating Union (ISU) and U.S. Figure Skating claim to be trying to smooth the process, and third-party vendors like ClicknClear offer options, but problems remain. This can lead to last-minute scrambling to secure rights to avoid copyright infringement claims.
It’s Been the Ruin of Many a Poor Boy
While some musicians are flattered by the use of their creations on the Olympic stage, others began demanding compensation for their work. This led to a major flare-up at the Winter Olympics in Beijing four years ago when an indie artist filed a lawsuit after a duo used its cover of “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals without obtaining permission. Glenn is not the only skater who got a scare over music rights during these Olympics. It took fan pressure and direct appeals before Universal Studios granted Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté permission to use music from its Minions franchise.
It’s been an eventful Olympics so far for the gold medal-winning Glenn. Even as she navigated music rights questions, she also found herself at the center of a political firestorm. An outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, Glenn was the target of extreme vitriol on social media after expressing her concerns for the queer community under President Donald Trump and the current administration. With one medal earned with her Olympic team already around her neck (and hopefully not having the ribbon break, as it did for teammate Alysa Liu), Glenn will seek further glory in the individual competition on February 17. She’ll do so with “The Return” as part of her free skate accompaniment.
Related Resources
- Copyright Challenge Against Ed Sheeran Strikes Wrong Chord With U.S. Supreme Court Justices (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Fair Use Law (FindLaw’s Intellectual Property Use Law)
- After Copyright Dispute With Record Label, Salt-N-Pepa ‘Push It’ to Court (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
