Olympic Figure Skaters Take Heat for Using AI-Generated Music



The Olympic figure skating ice dancing event in Milan, Italy, on Monday required participants to go with a 1990s theme. Skaters chose music from popular artists of the time such as Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and the Backstreet Boys. But the skaters from the Czech Republic include some music you might not recognize—because it’s an AI-generated song.

Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek, a sister pair of figure skaters, originally planned to perform a song with some lyrics you’ll recognize. That’s because it’s an AI song that uses verbatim quotes from the 1998 song “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals. The song was an international hit in the late 1990s.

As sports journalist Rodger Sherman MEAN: “The video is FUNNYI have no idea how they think they can get away with it.”

Journalist Shana Bartels first reported the song’s selection back in November Patreon newsletter “Figure Skating for Baseball Nerds.” He noted that the version they skated on Monday included guitar riffs, but the lyrics were changed so as not to copy the New Radicals.

You can hear the whole song for yourself in a video from a practice routine a a few months agoknown as “One Two, Thunderstruck.” You can hear how the AI ​​song in the first third of the routine is trying to figure out a guitar riff along the lines of the original “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC, but the vocals don’t sound like singers Bon Scott or Brian Johnson.

NBC, which has the rights to broadcast the Olympics in the US, is notoriously protective of copyright, so you’ll likely have a hard time finding clips of Monday’s performance on any social media platforms. But the practice clip below reportedly features the same music used on Monday, but also includes direct portions of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” along with AI slop.

“Are you kidding me with AI music in figure skating at the Olympics? So you want the world to respect your art but ignore the art of music that helps you do it?” a sound engineer written in Bluesky.

Another user is more straightforward, writing: “‘Figure skating music made by AI’ skip immediately, get fucked.”

While the Olympics are supposed to promote athletic success, it seems the focus is becoming more and more on intellectual property issues, even if it has nothing to do with AI. Spanish figure skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate was initially told he couldn’t use music from the Minions franchise, but that changed in last minute. The process of clearing the rights is obviously complicated, and changing the song can be frustrating for skaters trying to synchronize their movements to line up with the music.

US figure skater Amber Glenn also ran into copyright issues this year. Canadian artist Seb McKinnon, who makes music under the name CLANN, complained on social media that McKinnon did not allow his song to be used on Glenn’s show, according to Associated Press. McKinnon released a statement saying he was “glad we’ve cleared things up with Seb,” but the AP says we’re still in the dark about what hiccups occurred in clearing up the music.

The International Skating Union (ISU) only began allowing music with lyrics in 2014, opening the door to more contemporary music choices at the Olympics. ISU works with a company called ClicknClear to acquire music rights, but it is a big challenge when there are different rights holders that need to be paid, according to USA Today

Mrazkova and Mrazek received a score of 72.09 for their performance on Monday and placed 17th.



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