The Canadian ice dancing duo, Zachary Lagha and Marjorie Lajoie, ignited the crowd with their electrifying 1990s pop routine, a performance meticulously planned to captivate spectators and earn one of the night’s loudest cheers.
However, what many in the Milano Ice Skating Arena didn’t realize was that this energetic performance was born out of a frantic, last-minute pivot. The pair had to scrap their original Winter Olympics routine, just weeks before the competition.
The reason for the switch? They discovered they were on the brink of violating copyright law, having used an AC/DC-themed musical arrangement without proper authorization. A swift change was their only option.
Indeed, the complex world of intellectual property has become an unexpected focal point at the Milan figure skating competition, overshadowing previous Games. Numerous athletes have found themselves embroiled in copyright disputes both leading up to and during these career-defining events, highlighting the often confusing and error-prone journey skaters must undertake to secure music rights for their performances.
According to athletes, coaches, and industry experts, the heightened scrutiny from international broadcast rights, pervasive social media, and advanced music tracking technologies has amplified the visibility of Olympic skating performances, inevitably attracting the gaze of copyright holders.
Take, for instance, American figure skater Amber Glenn, who was thrust into an unforeseen online music licensing controversy on Sunday night, mere hours after contributing to the United States’ team victory.
Canadian musician Seb McKinnon publicly stated on social media that Glenn had incorporated his song “The Return” into her routine without securing permission.
He questioned, ‘Is that usual practice for the Olympics?’
Fortunately, the disagreement was quickly resolved. By Tuesday, both McKinnon and Glenn had announced on social media that they had reached an understanding.
Glenn released a statement, noting, ‘The issue of music rights can be complex and confusing; it seems there was a hiccup in that whole process.’ While she didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the resolution, she expressed enthusiasm: ‘I’m glad we cleared things up with Seb and I look forward to collaborating with him.’
Meanwhile, the day after securing gold, Danny O’Shea, Glenn’s American teammate, confirmed that he and his pairs skating partner, Ellie Kam, had proactively obtained all necessary licensing rights for their chosen competition music—including hits like ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ by Tears for Fears, ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’ by the Eurythmics, and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ by the Beatles—long before the Games commenced.
O’Shea emphasized, ‘Our choreographer made it clear: without the proper licenses, the music is off-limits. We understood we had to handle it ourselves.’
Their foresight proved invaluable, especially considering the fate of Russian figure skater Petr Gumennik. Just two days before his competition in Milan, Gumennik, participating as a neutral athlete due to Russia’s ongoing Olympic ban, was forced to abandon his planned music from the 2006 film ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and rapidly switch to a classical piece, also due to licensing issues.
Historically, most Olympic figure skating events only permitted instrumental music, with ice dancing being the sole exception to allow songs with lyrics. This rule was relaxed after the 2014 Winter Olympics, aimed at making the sport more engaging and accessible to a wider audience through popular music.
A significant indicator of these growing pains emerged after the 2022 Beijing Games. A musical duo initiated legal action against American skaters Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, alongside broadcaster NBCUniversal, alleging unauthorized use of their music. The matter was resolved out of court some months later.
Ahead of the current Milan-Cortina Games, the International Skating Union, the sport’s governing body, proactively engaged national skating federations and coaches, stressing the critical importance of proper music licensing. National federations, in turn, have guided athletes, even directing them to databases for music clearance. Despite these efforts, securing licenses remains a challenging endeavor.
Chantal Epp, founder of the British company ClicknClear, which specializes in music licensing for skaters, explained that obtaining rights for a single song can often require permissions from multiple rights holders, adding layers of complexity.
In a positive development, Epp’s company announced a new agreement with Universal Music Group, significantly broadening access for athletes to Universal’s extensive music catalog.
For many athletes, the agonizing wait for music clearance can rival the tension of awaiting a judge’s final scores.
Olivia Smart and her ice dancing partner, Tim Dieck, representing Spain, arrived in Italy filled with uncertainty. Despite requesting clearance months in advance for their chosen ‘Dune’ soundtrack piece, they were unsure if it would arrive before their performance.
Smart recounted Tim’s desperate thought: ‘Maybe I’ll message Hans Zimmer myself,’ referring to the renowned film composer. Luckily, permission was granted just moments before they competed.
Beyond bureaucracy, cost presents another significant hurdle. Most figure skaters are amateurs, and the royalties for their preferred music can be prohibitively expensive. This financial disparity can create an unfair competitive advantage for those who can afford premium licenses.
Despite generating billions from TV rights for the Games, the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) does not subsidize music licensing for skaters. I.O.C. spokesman Mark Adams admitted, ‘We understand the playing field is not totally level.’
Pascal Denis, a Canadian coach guiding several skaters at the Games, revealed that annual music costs can vary from a few dollars to several thousand. He noted that such expenses are often prohibitive for many competitors, forcing some ice dancing pairs to switch their music multiple times within a single season.
Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté became an overnight sensation on the eve of the Games after resorting to social media to campaign for the rights to use music from the ‘Minions’ animated films in his Olympic routine.
Epp confirmed that going public on social media was a final, desperate measure, despite her company having worked for months to secure the authorization. The necessary clearance arrived just days before his performance, which Epp attributed to the widespread media attention.
Sabaté’s coach, Edoardo De Bernardis, expressed relief, stating that without that eleventh-hour permission, they would have been left without a routine entirely.
He painted a vivid picture: ‘Imagine dedicating months, every single day, to perfecting a choreography and routine, only to find you can’t perform it at the biggest competition of your life. We had no other licensed music, no alternative program. We were completely lost.’
However, the permission came with a crucial catch, De Bernardis noted: it was valid exclusively for the Olympics. This means Sabaté will almost certainly have to find new music and develop an entirely new routine for future competitions.
