Russian figure skater changes Olympic music over copyright; Associated Press via ESPN, February 8, 2026

 Associated Press via ESPN; Russian figure skater changes Olympic music over copyright

"Russian figure skater Petr Gumennik has been forced to change his short program music two days before the men's program at the Milan Cortina Olympics after joining a growing list of figure skaters dealing with copyright issues.

Gumennik, who is participating as a neutral athlete at the Winter Games, had been working all season to music from "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," a psychological thriller film. But the 23-year-old Russian national champion learned in the past few days that he did not have proper permission to perform to the music, leaving him in limbo as the Winter Games began.

Given such a tight timeframe, Gumennik was unable to get clearance for his music from last season, which came from the space opera film "Dune." So he pivoted to "Waltz 1805" by Edgar Hakobyan, for which Gumennik was able to get permission."

US figure skater Amber Glenn faces backlash over politics and copyright issues; AP via ABC News, February 9, 2026

 DAVE SKRETTA AP sports writer via ABC News; US figure skater Amber Glenn faces backlash over politics and copyright issues

"On the same day Amber Glenn won Olympic gold as part of the team event, and stepped away from social media due to backlash over her comments on politics and the LGBTQ+ community, the American figure skater ended up with another headache.

Canadian artist Seb McKinnon, who produces music under the name CLANN, took to social media late Sunday to object to the use of his song “The Return,” which Glenn had used in her free skate — and has been using for the past two years without issue.

“So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine. It aired all over the world ... what? Is that usual practice for the Olympics?” McKinnon posted to X, shortly after the team competition had ended.

Figure skaters are required to obtain permission for the music they use, but that process is hardly straightforward.

Sometimes the label or record producer owns the copyright, other times the artist themselves, and often there are multiple parties involved. Skaters sometimes will piece together different cuts of music, too. Throw in third-party companies such as ClicknClear that try to smooth out the permission process, and the entire copyright issue becomes murky and nuanced."