U.S. Figure Skater Amber Glenn Gives Happy Update to Music Copyright Controversy

The American captured a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games—and possibly made a new friend.

Amber Glenn is one of several Olympians who have run into copyright issues with their musical backing. | James Lang-Imagn Images

Music is interwoven into the fabric of figure skating with the athlete's choice of soundtrack doing tremendous work to color the complete picture. Getting the notes congruent with acrobatics on the ice is a tricky task and the Milan Cortina Games have brought with them an added wrinkle to the whole process as several skaters have run into copyright issues that force them to alter their programs at the last minute.

The steps to obtaining permission from musical artists can be a bit of a labyrinth so there's bound to be some miscommunications and misunderstandings. One of the more high-profile instances at the 2026 Olympics involves U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn and Seb McKinnon, who records under the name CLANN.

But it looks like it could all have a happen ending.

To recap: McKinnon took to Twitter on Sunday after noticing that Glenn used one of his songs titled “The Return” in her free skate performance.

“So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine,” McKinnon wrote. “It aired all over the world...what? Is that usual practice for the olympics?”

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?

— Seb McKinnon (@SebMcKinnon) February 8, 2026

Glenn, who finished third in that outing, eventually earned a gold in the team event. “The issue of music rights can be complex and confusing, and it seems like there was a hiccup somewhere in that process," she said in a statement. “I’m glad we were able to clear things up and I’m excited about the possibility of collaborating with Seb moving forward."

In a post to X on Tuesday, Glenn revealed that this situation could have a major silver lining.

"Sometimes new friendships start in unexpected ways," she wrote.

@SebMcKinnon pic.twitter.com/LroNa9xuj0

— Amber Glenn (@AmberGlenn_) February 10, 2026

Glenn is far from the only skater to navigate the tricky issue of copyright at the last minute. Russian skater Petr Gumennik changed his program two days before the event after being unable to resolve a conflict, while Spanish skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté scrambled to an eventual blessing to use a Minions medley.

It's interesting that in a few of these cases, the Olympian has been using the music for multiple years and that their selections are only being noticed now, on the biggest stage.

In the case of Glenn and McKinnon, it appears all's well that ends well.

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