The issue of music copyright laws in figure skating

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Elizabeth
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Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:52 pm
Location: Ottawa, ON

The issue of music copyright laws in figure skating

Post by Elizabeth »

Some readers may be aware that US skating events being streamed this season have been completely muting the sound as USFS is dealing with music copyright laws. You have also, no doubt, found some YouTube videos which have been taken off line due to music copyright issues.

During the Junior Grand Prix events this season you might have also noticed that the sound of the music was at a lower level than usual. Ted & Mark alluded to this in commentary on occasion, acknowledging that they were using the "ambient arena sound", rather than a separate sound track/microphone as in the past. That meant that the sound from some arenas was of better quality than others.

At the most recent ISU Executive Council this issue was addressed:
From ISU Communication No. 2671 - Decisions of the Council (Oct. 1, 2024):

6. Music rights clearance issues
The Council noted the concerns of the Figure Skating family with regards to Music rights clearance issues, acknowledging that there is no quick and easy solution to this complex legal matter that must nonetheless be addressed by all Figure Skating athletes. The ISU has been working with the company ClicknClear (https://www.clicknclear.com/licensingpl ... r.com/faqs), which provides one option for clearing music rights. A module on the ISU eRink explains the music rights issues and how to use ClicknClear, and further guidance on this option will be available shortly.
A member of the AnythingGOEs team has written and posted an article on this issue: https://anythinggoe.com/making-music-in-skating-legal/ It is well worth a read - it traces the origins of the issue within the USA, talks about protecting the rights of the music artists, but also talks about other countries, the ISU, etc.

It appears that, for this season, we are in a bit of a "holding pattern" but may see changes coming next season.
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