Lauriault and LeGac - RD Issue

[fsfann]

According to Radio Canada, they can no longer use the music for their RD. (Music rights issue with Prince songs)! 3 weeks before Olympics! Yikes…

 

[Sylvia]

Here's the article:

Patinage artistique : la question des droits musicaux

Les patineurs Marie-Jade Lauriault et Romain Le Gac doivent changer leur danse rythmique à trois semaines des Jeux olympiques de Milan-Cortina.

ici.radio-canada.ca

ETA auto-translated excerpts:

Aged 29 and 30, Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac have seen it all before. They aren't overly concerned and say they appreciate the creative process of developing a new choreography and choosing new costumes. They've been thinking about their new program since last December and have two music choices in mind.
"At this point, we'll be happy to make the change because we've qualified and it will be a different experience," the skater said. "We've already been through a lot together, and our team is very proactive in helping us feel comfortable quickly, even with new equipment."

Since then [2022 Olympics, sigh], skaters from all over the world have had to make sure they have the right to use the music in their program. And that's not easy.
Although there are websites and applications designed to facilitate the process, there are many specificities depending on the territory where the piece will be performed, whether changes to the tempo are made there, and so on.
The bill can quickly escalate, especially considering a choreographer's hourly rate and the cost of costumes, which can reach thousands of dollars. The duo, however, says they received support from their inner circle throughout this complicated process.
At the beginning of the season, we were told, "Focus on your training and your performance. We, the team, the Skate Canada organization, will take care of everything," said Le Gac. Well, in the end, we received a notification in December telling us that the rights deal wasn't going to work.
We still felt that everyone had worked hard to protect the athletes as much as possible. We are truly fortunate that our federation takes care of its athletes, helps them, and guides them. Elsewhere in the world, there are people who found themselves somewhat lost in this information , Lauriault noted.
Not all international or national sports organizations have this capacity, Le Gac concluded.

Figure skating isn't the only sport affected by this new reality. Sony has filed lawsuits against companies that sold remixed compilations of its artists' songs for cheerleading competitions . All sports that use music, from gymnastics to artistic swimming, are impacted.
"It's a whole new world for us," Lauriault admitted. "We were aware of rights before, and we've always respected the artist when we cut the music, add bits to emphasize certain elements, or play around with the music a lot. We're still transforming someone's piece, so we have to respect that."
But it's a new reality to be so demanding regarding rights, and financially as well. The consequences include new choreography, new costumes, and, in terms of music rights, the artist wants to be paid, which is perfectly normal. On the other hand, we don't get paid to skate, we pay to skate , she added.

Relevant thread from 2024:

Thread 'Music rights clearance issues (policy being implemented by the ISU starting in 2024)'

Oct 1, 2024

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/licensingplatform-guide & https://www.clicknclear.com/faqs), which provides one option for clearing music rights. A module on...

• Sylvia
• Replies: 93
• Forum: Great Skate Debate

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[Rukia]

According to Radio Canada, they can no longer use the music for their RD. (Music rights issue with Prince songs)! 3 weeks before Olympics! Yikes…

I believe they have known this is a potential issue since the beginning of the season. One would hope they have been planning for this.

 

[Sylvia]

Rob Brodie wrote about L/LG's RD music issue back in late August 2025 (HP Camp):

Camping out with some of Canada's finest

The Olympic season is now upon us, and Skate Canada's annual high performance camp is a first step toward many big moments that lie ahead for this icy crew

rwbrodiewrites.substack.com

Here we go again
You knew we couldn’t get through a morning of interviews without the subject of music clearance rights — one of the off-season’s hottest topics — rearing its head once again.

Here’s the latest one, this involving Lauriault and Le Gac. They talked enthusiastically about a new rhythm dance, built around two tunes (“Thunder” and “Cream”) by the late and oh so great Prince (yeah, I was a big fan back in the day). Or, as Lauriault put it, this is their rhythm dance “for now.”

They know it will eventually have to change, and that’s the rub.

“Prince’s music is amazing and I feel like everybody knows that, but this feels really special. When we first heard ‘Thunder,’ it was really like ‘oh my God, we have to skate to that music,’” said Lauriault. “So we were really happy, we were happy with the choreography we did with Romain (Haguenauer) in Montreal, happy with the costumes. It was just music rights.

“We got the message two weeks before Lake Placid (a summer competition in July where they earned a silver medal) that it would not work for Prince at the Games. Not surely, but there is a high probability (it won’t).”

It’ll mean switching to a new rhythm dance sometime later in the fall, but Lauriault and Le Gac are trying to see the bright side of that.

“We will be kind of sad to let (Prince) go, but at the same time, we need to take it as a refresher,” said Lauriault. “Sometimes the year can be long, especially if we have good goals for this year. We want the year to be as long as it can and having that new short dance maybe in the middle of the year gives it something new.

“So we’re going to try to take it like this. We have a couple of Plan Bs that we have to check with Skate Canada, but we’re getting there.”

 

[genevieve]

Is this an issue with Prince’s music in general (he was notoriously tight with clearances while alive), or specifically with L/L-G?

Because I absolutely MUST see Slevbro the Elder’s “Kiss” SP at the Olys

 

[Spikefan]

Is this an issue with Prince’s music in general

In general. Stranger Things was shocked they got clearance for the series finale. Thankfully they did.

Kind of silly as the songs (Purple Rain album) shot to the top of the charts. Thunder and Cream could be introduced to a whole new generation at the Olympics.

 

[PRlady]

The way I see it, it’s free advertising. Madonna and Gaga don’t need it but I’ll bet Laufey increased her number of American fans thanks to Alysa.

I personally have bought at least 30 songs in iTunes because someone skated to them. My stepson ambled past the Sonos while L’Enfer was playing and asked what the hell was that.

 

[MacMadame]

I can't believe they kept going with that program knowing they'd have to change it. That just seems like a recipe for a bad performance on the world's biggest stage.

 

[Sylvia]

I can't believe they kept going with that program knowing they'd have to change it.

From the article - "Since they were vying for the last Canadian qualification spot in ice dance [with Fabbri/Ayer], Lauriault and Le Gac preferred to keep their rhythm dance to secure their selection."

 

[MacMadame]

Except they knew it was an issue from almost the get-go. It would be different if they didn't figure it out until late in the Fall.

 

[Icetalavista]

I bet increasing #s of skaters will go with AI music if the rights issue continues

 

[Private Citizen]

Except they knew it was an issue from almost the get-go. It would be different if they didn't figure it out until late in the Fall.

Which is better - not making the Olympics or making it but having to change your RD music? Clearly the latter. I understand their decision.

 

[Rukia]

I bet increasing #s of skaters will go with AI music if the rights issue continues

except that caused issues too because the ai stole lyrics from actual songs sooooo

anyway ban ai music (and everything else)

 

[MacMadame]

Which is better - not making the Olympics or making it but having to change your RD music? Clearly the latter. I understand their decision.

I don't believe they wouldn't have made the Olympics even if they skated to absolute dreck.