{"id":6854,"date":"2024-08-07T20:26:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T00:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/performingartsnews\/?p=6854"},"modified":"2024-08-08T11:22:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T15:22:21","slug":"olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/performingartsnews\/2024\/08\/07\/olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Music for Champions: Copyright at the Olympic Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photograph<\/a>
The Olympic rings on the Trocadero Esplanade near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sept. 13, 2017.Christophe Simon \/ AFP – Getty Images file<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the 2024 Paris Olympic Games race towards their exciting conclusion, viewers across the world are learning about sports they\u2019ve never heard of and rooting for athletes who have become household names overnight<\/a>. But one detail of the Olympics receives little attention despite its crucial significance to numerous sports and disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simone Biles<\/a><\/span><\/span> famously tumbled to an all-around gold to Taylor Swift\u2019s and Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s music for her floor routine, with her teammates Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles choosing Lindsey Stirling<\/a> and Beyonc\u00e9, respectively. The US artistic swimming team went viral for dancing an upside-down underwater moonwalk<\/a> to Michael Jackson\u2019s \u201cSmooth Criminal,\u201d while the Mexican team paid tribute to the rock band Queen. And viewers watching various arena sports have heard music by the White Stripes, Chappell Roan, Los Del Rio, Sia, and Gioacchino Rossini, among many others, punctuating the cheers of the crowds. So ubiquitous is such background music, or the music that accompanies artistic gymnasts and swimmers, not to mention the figure skaters and ice dancers of the Winter Olympics, that most of us don\u2019t even question the legality of such uses of music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Still<\/a>
The US Olympic artistic swimming team performs the moonwalk. Screen capture from https:\/\/www.today.com\/video\/us-artistic-swimmers-moonwalk-upside-down-to-smooth-criminal-216522821902<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But as it turns out, getting permission to use popular song recordings at the Olympics is <\/em>a big deal! Before a gymnast can legally execute a wolf turn<\/a> in their floor routine or a figure skater can attempt a triple Axel<\/a> to the accompaniment of their favorite copyrighted music, permissions must be granted, or licensing must be purchased, in order not to run afoul of copyright law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is copyright at the Olympics a big deal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might be asking yourself, \u201cWhy does anyone care about music played at sporting events? It\u2019s not like Simone Biles is making money off Taylor Swift\u2019s or Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s music. Is the estate of Michael Jackson really being harmed if an artistic swimming team uses his music in their routine?\u201d It\u2019s important to understand the rights that copyright holders have over the performance or use of their intellectual property, and how that relates to public sporting events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are five rights granted to owners of copyrighted works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The right to reproduce the work<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The right to prepare derivative works<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The right to produce and distribute copies<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The right to publicly perform the work<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The right to display the copyrighted material<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This means anyone who wants to play a recording of copyrighted music in a public context, with some exceptions<\/a>, must first obtain permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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