K-pop on the Silver Board How 'Copyrights Fee' Will Be Settled At Italian Olympics

*This content was translated by AI.

On Feb. 6, the world's eyes are on Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the holy sites of winter sports. More than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries will compete for 116 gold medals at the Winter Olympics. South Korea is also ready to show off its skating powerhouse side by sending a 130-member squad, led by Cha Jun-hwan, Lee Hae-in, and Shin Ji-ah.

◆ Meet art, music and sports completed on the silver plate

Music is an indispensable element in the Olympics, where the eyes of countless people are focused across countries and sports. Paul McCartney's "Hey Jude" at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, and Japan's use of representative game music as an entry song for the team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, show the importance of music in sports festivals.

Especially in figure skating, music is an absolute device that unites an athlete's skill and artistic expression. This is because it determines the completeness of the program by breathing with each movement of the player beyond simple background sound. What is interesting is that K-pop has recently emerged as a new option for figure skaters and is attracting attention.

In fact, the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Beijing in January clearly showed this change. At the gala show group performance, Rosé's "APT" and "Squid Game" OST resonated to induce audience chanting, and foreign players such as Jinshushian (China) and Roman Sadovski (Canada) also selected K-pop as program music.

Lee Hae-in, who is participating in the Korean national team at this Olympics, also performed "Your Idol" of "K-pop Demon Hunters" as a gala program. The program video is already receiving high attention with more than 3.5 million views on YouTube, realizing the status of K-pop on the board. In addition to Lee Hae-in, the Milan Olympics is expected to be a point for fans around the world to see what kind of K-pop melody athletes from around the world will shine.

◆Who will take care of the copyright fees for my song used on the other side of the world?

So how are the copyrights of thousands of songs used in Italy on the other side of the world protected? In conclusion, the usage fee for all songs is 'paid in full' through a set procedure.

The copyright law basically follows the principle of 'exileism' to which the laws of the country apply. As a result, all music fees used at the Olympics will be collected by SIAE, a local copyright management organization, based on Italian copyright law. When Korean music is used in the stadium, the SIAE collects the amount and delivers it to the Korea Music Copyright Association (hereinafter referred to as the Manger Association), which distributes it back to domestic creators.

Based on "mutual management contracts" with 102 copyright management organizations around the world, the Korea Music Association protects the rights and interests of our musicians beyond the borders. "We are partners who have established a close cooperation system with SIAE in Italy," an official from the Mjeo Association said. "As it is a large-scale international event, we will do our best to ensure that the music used is settled thoroughly."

The same applies to international events held in Korea. Music used in Korea is managed in accordance with the Korean Copyright Act and the collection regulations of the Korean Music Association, and major international competitions such as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the ISU Figure Four Continents Championship held in Seoul last year were also collected accordingly.

According to records during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, about 7,900 songs were used in all events and 45,000 music transmissions. The Korea Music Association announced that it not only distributed quickly to domestic creators based on detailed music usage details, but also settled and delivered profits for the use of foreign songs to the copyright organization of the country. As such, a data-based transparent collection system is a key administrative foundation for international sports events to be operated reflecting the values of creators.

◆K-pop's global spurt, invisible power to protect the values of creators

Thanks to the global spurt of K-pop, the amount of copyright fees collected overseas is increasing noticeably every year. According to the Korea Music Association, overseas music copyright fees were about 47.8 billion won in 2025, a steep growth of 26.5% compared to the previous year.

"The way music is used at domestic and international sports events is much more diverse than in the past, and applications for use are increasing," an official from the Korea Music Association said. "We will focus on protecting the fair price of our music and creators anywhere in the world by closely watching and monitoring these changes."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.