Music, copyright and gymnatsics

I was sorting out some information for a longer, and somewhat more thoughtful, post when I found this: apparently The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada wants all the local gymnastics clubs to pay royalties for the tunes they use for routines.

The news just shocks me since I've been in my university gymnastics club for several years. And although that sort of a thing would probably never happen in Russia, I just can imagine what sort of troubles it could bring.

Finding just the right piece for a floor routine is hard enough. It should be instrumental. It should have at least two slow parts and a fast part to meet both choreographic and and acrobatic demands. And it's just about 1-1.5 minutes long. Moreover, it's used only for floor routines done by girls.


Photo: "Candlestick" by Dmitriy Tugarinov at Moscow Museon park


The article also state that the clubs are non-profit organization. In my case, I never could understand how my club survives at all. We never had any submission fees. Competitions attendance was always free. The system itself seemed to run on pure enthusiasm.

It also makes me wonder if the high-profile unprofessional gymnasts or figure skaters (those who go to the Olympics) should also worry about copyright laws while choosing the music for the routines? Read more...