Copyright Turmoil Disrupts Olympic Figure Skating in Milan
The opening week of the figure skating program at the Milan Cortina Olympics has been overshadowed by a wave of copyright disputes, compelling numerous athletes to either secure urgent approvals or completely abandon their carefully choreographed routines. This persistent issue has sparked confusion and frustration among competitors, highlighting the intricate challenges of music licensing in elite sports.
Last-Minute Scrambles and Routine Changes
Spanish skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate faced a tense situation, spending several days negotiating permission to use music from the animated film "Minions" for his short program. He ultimately succeeded, allowing his performance to proceed as planned. In contrast, Russian competitor Petr Gumennik was forced to alter his routine merely two days before his event after failing to clear music from Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. He hastily switched to Edgar Hakobyan's Waltz 1805 instead.
American skater Amber Glenn encountered a similar predicament. Having utilised Seb McKinnon's The Return for two years, she was caught in a last-minute scramble when the Canadian artist expressed surprise at its use following her contribution to defending the American team's gold medal. The matter was eventually resolved through direct communication, but not without significant stress.
Widespread Confusion Among Athletes
Canadian ice dancer Piper Gilles voiced the pervasive bewilderment, telling The Associated Press, "Even now, we don't really understand what we can and can't use, but we're all working through that. Everybody is trying to get on the same page, but it does make it harder." This sentiment reflects a broader uncertainty that has plagued skaters throughout the competition.
Root Cause: The ISU's 2014 Rule Change
The current turmoil traces back to the International Skating Union's (ISU) 2014 decision to lift its long-standing ban on lyrics in most disciplines. This move aimed to broaden the sport's appeal beyond traditional classical pieces, which were largely in the public domain and could be used freely or modified. Previously, athletes were confined to older, often classical tunes like piano concertos.
The rule change opened the door to a vast array of modern genres, from pop and hip-hop to hard rock and heavy metal. However, contemporary music is rarely in the public domain, necessitating explicit permission from copyright holders. The complexities were starkly illustrated at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, the first Olympics where lyrics were permitted, when American skaters Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier faced a lawsuit from an indie rock band for using a cover of House of the Rising Sun without authorisation.
Navigating a Fragmented Licensing Landscape
Obtaining permission is far from straightforward. Copyright ownership can be fragmented across multiple entities, including the original songwriter, recording labels, publishers, and even movie studios if the music featured in a film. Different licences might be required for music played within the venue, broadcast on television, and used online. Additional bureaucratic hurdles arise if the broadcast is recorded, with international copyright laws adding another significant layer of complexity, especially given the global reach of the Winter Olympics.
The process becomes overwhelmingly complicated when most skaters incorporate cuts from multiple songs into a single performance, each potentially requiring separate clearances. American skater Amber Glenn described her experience as "chaos," elaborating: "First, we get, like a website or some sort of application to track things. And then once we’re like, ‘OK, yeah, it’s cleared. It’s good,’ suddenly it’s not a reliable source anymore. OK, then what do we do?"
Efforts to Streamline the Process
In response to these challenges, the ISU has partnered with ClicknClear, a third-party company serving as a clearinghouse for a vast number of artists and songs. This collaboration has led to an online system designed to help figure skaters more easily obtain copyright permissions. National governing bodies have also stepped in; U.S. Figure Skating, for instance, has worked with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) to pre-emptively ensure music used by American skaters avoids last-minute copyright infringements.
Despite these initiatives, the landscape remains hazy and complex, with problems continuing to emerge. Justin Dillon, who heads the high-performance programme for U.S. Figure Skating, acknowledged the ongoing challenge: "Things change rapidly every day, and we're just trying to understand what this landscape looks like. There's still so much to learn in this space."
The copyright issues at the Milan Olympics underscore a critical tension between modernising a traditional sport and navigating the intricate web of intellectual property rights, leaving athletes and officials grappling with an evolving and often unpredictable regulatory environment.
