[2022.09.23] The problems with figure skating performance video archives

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

Source: 

https://jbpress.ismedia.jp/articles/-/71923
https://jbpress.ismedia.jp/articles/-/71924
https://jbpress.ismedia.jp/articles/-/71928

 

 

 

(2022.09.23)

 

What are the problems with figure skating performance video archives that Tatsuki Machida points out? ｜People who colour figure skating (No. 33)

 

The reality of having to rely on video posting sites

　If you're a figure skating fan and you want to see the performance of the skaters in that ice show at that tournament, video posting sites are probably the best place to look.

 

Spoiler

　Indeed, there are many videos from the past to the present. If you look for something from a competition, an ice show, or a work by a famous skater, you might be able to find it. So when you want to watch a performance video, it may not be that inconvenient, even though it may take some time to find it. It may be rare for you to feel like you can't watch a movie.

　But there's a catch. Many of the videos on video posting sites are in an unstable state, meaning they could disappear at any time.

The reality is that people still have to rely on video posting sites, but the disappearance of videos from those sites actually has more than just an impact on figure skating fans. Tatsuki Machida has focused on the major issues facing figure skating, including these issues.

 

Researching “artistic sports”

    Machida announced his retirement from competitive life in December 2014, and after working as a professional figure skater, he also ended his activities as a professional skater in October 2018.

　As a competitor, he achieved results such as taking 5th place at the Olympics and winning a silver medal at the World Championships. In addition to his achievements, Machida was also a skater who will be remembered deeply for his many great performances throughout his professional days.

His strong presence remains unchanged even today in his career as a researcher. Machida, who is currently an assistant professor at Kokugakuin University, has been conducting research and publishing papers since he was a graduate student at Waseda University. His achievements have received wide attention, and he has also left a great mark on figure skating.

　For example, we are researching “artistic sports”, a scoring competition that uses music and includes expression. One example of this is the clarification that figure skating, which was previously not recognized, can be considered a copyrighted work.

　He has also researched the meaning of archives in sports and emphasized the importance of being archived and preserving them for future generations.

　I will quote words from previous interviews.

“As a researcher, archival studies is one of my specialties, and I published a paper on archival studies in 2020. Through the results of such research, I learned that Japan's sports archives are in a critical situation. It is not even known that the Prince Chichibu Memorial Sports Museum and Library, which plays a central role in sports archives, has been closed from 2014 to the present. Archives are the foundation for shaping the future. It is also a barometer of a culture's maturity. Therefore, if there is a lack of archives in the sports world, the sports culture itself will not deepen."

 

　There are a variety of sports materials that should be archived. When it comes to baseball, physical things like gloves and uniforms immediately come to mind. In the case of figure skating, this would correspond to medals, costumes, etc.

 

``It is possible to archive them as long as you have the consent of the owner and have the will to build an archive. In fact, soccer and baseball have museums along with their halls of fame, and figure skating also has a world championships museum in Colorado, USA.'' There is a skating museum where various materials are archived.

Problems with figure skating archives

　However, there are some things in figure skating that are difficult to archive. That's the performance video. And it is also the one that needs archiving the most.

 

"In artistic sports like figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics, archives are essential. Because we can't create something from scratch. We can refer to what our predecessors have built. That's how we can create better things. That's exactly how the history of art has developed. I learned from history that ``this kind of performance existed, and this kind of artistry was expressed by skaters.'' We can create new and even better works by incorporating the goodness of the past.”

 

　Learning the history of performance is watching videos of past performances. In other words, this shows the importance of archiving performance footage. However, it is said that it is difficult to archive. He says that there are characteristics unique to figure skating performance videos.

 

　This comes from the fact that figure skating involves music. And not only that, but there are also issues with archiving.

Machida has faced the difficulties of archiving performance footage in a practical manner, experiencing the specific reasons and obstacles. Not only did he hit a barrier, but he also cleared it and achieved an accomplishment.

 

“This is a first in the figure skating world.”

 

　Along with the background and results of his practice, Machida explains the problems with archiving performance footage. (Continue)

 

 

 

(2022.09.24)

 

How much in total? Tatsuki Machida talks about the reality of "copyright" in performance video archives | People who colour figure skating (No. 34)

 

Music copyright alone costs hundreds of thousands of yen per song.

 

In May 2021, Tatsuki Machida released a Blu-ray containing his own works, ``Dance Art on Ice: Tatsuki Machida Choreography and Self-Performance Figure Skating Works Prince Ice World Video Collection 2013-2018 '' (published by Shinshokan). It includes 9 performances of 6 works choreographed and performed by himself, from his amateur days to the period when he was active as a professional skater.

 

Spoiler

During the production process, Machida learned firsthand the existence of barriers to archiving.

 

"When it comes to music, there are basically many negotiations with collective copyright management companies such as JASRAC. However, unlike when it is used on broadcasts, in cafes, or at competitions, the technical term for it is 'fixed.' Copyrights that are fixed in a playable format such as DVDs have extremely high hurdles for copyright clearance, and there are cases where JASRAC etc. do not have jurisdiction over them. Copyright itself is complex, and the rights of the composer (copyright) and the rights of the performer (performer's rights) are separate. If you can’t clear both, you won't be able to archive it."

 

　The amount of effort involved is extraordinary. In addition, appropriate costs will be incurred.

 

"Actually, each song doesn't cost tens of thousands of yen, but often reaches hundreds of thousands of yen."

 

　You can see the amount of cost involved in producing a video collection. If you imagine the huge cost and effort required to negotiate permission, you can imagine that the burden is considerable.

 

``This work was done with the kindness of Shinshokan, so we did not run into the red, but we were able to make it without considering profitability.''

 

　The reason why he put so much energy into it was because he wanted to preserve the original sound source of the song as it was when it was performed.

 

　Figure skating video collections have been released in the past. If you carefully look at the notes written on them, you will notice that there are notations to this effect.

 

``The recorded songs are newly recorded and re-edited due to copyright reasons.''

 

　This means that because the rights to the sound source for the program could not be cleared, new songs (digitally etc.) were created for all or some of the programs included in the performance. In other words, it is not the same as when it was performed. Machida's video collection used all of the works' original sound sources as they were performed - a ``first in the figure skating world''.

 

``I mainly handled the payments and negotiations for the rights fees in the editorial department of Shinshokan, but I faced many difficulties. In the end, I think it took about a year just to negotiate.''

Video copyright issues

　What must be cleared when recording is not just music rights. The image itself also needs to be cleared.

``It's hard to say in general, but most of the time, the copyright of a video belongs to the event organizer and the person who filmed it. Competitions are held jointly by competition federations and television stations, such as the International Skating Federation and Plus Alpha for the Grand Prix Series, and NHK for the NHK Trophy. We have to negotiate with both parties to get copyright clearance for the footage.”

　How much does that cost?

"When you think about how much copyright fees it costs for one minute of performance footage, the average monthly salary of an office worker would be nowhere near enough for it. That's just for one minute."

Applying this analogy, if there were a 5-minute performance video, it would require 5 months' worth of average monthly salary. You can imagine that 1 million yen is an amount that cannot be paid.

“That’s not all.”

　What Machida said was that there was more than just one person to pay, there’s also the amount needed to be paid to both the organizer and the TV station.

"The price is the same for both, so it will cost twice as much."

　In other words, a 5-minute video of each performance would cost well over 2 million yen. If we were to release a Blu-ray or DVD, we would not be able to release just one work, so we would have to include several works. I wonder how much the total cost will be, including the music and video...it will require a huge amount of money. Under normal circumstances, this is an amount that cannot be borne, and depending on how you look at it, it may even seem like it is a rejection of such archiving.

　Machida's video collection was able to overcome this barrier due to the cooperation of the organizers. All six pieces included are from the ice show ``Prince Ice World'', as the title suggests.

"Thankfully, they were able to set a realistic fee for the rights as a courtesy of my contribution to their ice show."

　He continues.

“Of course, there were other works that we wanted to include, but those images were not realized due to copyright issues.”

　That's why it has been compiled into a collection of performance videos from Prince Ice World.

Based on that experience, he has been working on the new project ``Tatsuki Machida: Introduction to Ballet for Figure Skaters'' (published by Shinshokan), which is scheduled to be released in October.

 

``After I retired from being an athlete, I seriously studied ballet for eight years under Naoki Takagishi, a member of the Tokyo Ballet Special Corps. Figure skating is basically based on ballet. I realized that learning about the dance culture of ballet can lead to greater expressiveness and precision in figure skating, which I hope young figure skaters will experience as well. That's why I'm making it."

 

　This DVD focuses on recordings of workshops held on-demand in the summer of 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, consisting of four parts, including lectures, floor and ice lessons, and the four skaters who performed Chopin's "Farewell" choreographed by Machida.

 

``There is music in the workshop on the floor, and although there is no copyright to the pieces composed by Chopin, the pianists who play it have performer's rights. So they agreed to use their music for educational purposes, and of course it wasn't free, but they gave us permission at a reasonable price.

 

　We also asked a professional photographer to personally shoot the video. His name is Kiyoyuki Kato of Granciel Pictures, who has been involved in broadcasting live competitions for many years. They agreed, saying, ``Let's do it,'' and we were able to lower the cost of filming rights, which lowered the barrier. In other words, we negotiated with the musicians in advance and produced the video ourselves. In this way, it can be said to be an archive collection of how to make things, the opposite of a video collection. I can say that we have tried both approaches.”

 

　There is a considerable amount of knowledge gained through the process. Including that, it was a big challenge.

　Listening to his story, it became clear that for archiving there is need to clear the rights to music and images, and how difficult the task was.

 

　At the same time, I felt one thing. The question is how the existence of the skater subject is positioned, and whether he is conscious of it. (Continue)

 

 

 

(2022.09.25)

 

What kind of contribution does figure skating bring to the music industry? Possibilities of video archives | People who colour figure skating (No. 35)

 

Difficulties in archiving performance footage

 

The enormous costs and energy required for negotiations...the difficulty of archiving footage of figure skating performances is clearly demonstrated in Tatsuki Machida's attempt to publish a video collection of his own work. For this reason, no archive of performance footage was constructed.

 

Spoiler

“I think the hurdles for rights clearance for both video and music are too high.”

　As a result, video posting sites are essentially being used as archives. It is used as a reference not only by figure skating fans but also by people in the skating world.

"As a researcher myself, it's convenient to be able to watch a variety of videos."

　Machida agrees.

``However, those videos are 'grey' in terms of rights. Apart from the ones officially released by the International Skating Union, most of them are uploaded by fans, who have not obtained permission from the rights holder. We can watch them because of the ``opt-out'' method operates on the idea that if you upload something, if the rights holder requests an injunction, it can be immediately taken down. It's a live archive, so you don't know when what you're watching will be deleted."

　That's why Machida says it's important to build an archive so you don't have to rely on video posting sites. He points out that the barrier to this lies in the handling of rights for both video and music.

``I would like to see sports federations take the lead in negotiating with television stations and the music industry to quickly come up with a system that would allow smooth secondary use of performance footage.''

　Machida explained that it was necessary to pay a huge amount of money to both the organizer and the TV station in order to clear the rights to the footage, but what I suddenly felt is that the presence of the skaters, who are the owners of the footage, was rather disregarded.

　In terms of rights, just as a performer of a song has rights as a performer, shouldn’t skaters, as performers, also have rights to their performance and choreography?

　After all, it is only through the skater's performance that a performance video is created.

　However, if skaters wanted to use the footage, they would have to pay a huge amount of money. I feel stuck there. At the very least, I think there should be a distinction between the skaters using footage of themselves, and said footage used by other people.

　Machida also says.

``In the first place, if there was no subject, no performance footage would have been created. There should be a distinction between use by the subject and use by other third parties, and if the subject wants to use the footage, consideration must be given to the use of the footage since it is their own performance footage. Of course, I'm not saying it's free, because the cost of producing a video is enormous. However, I think there needs to be a system that allows those involved to make secondary use of performance footage.''

Lack of respect for the music industry

　On the other hand, when it comes to music, he says that the efforts of the figure skating side are also essential.
 

“What the figure skating industry is completely lacking in is respect for the music industry. For example, credits. There is almost no mention of who wrote the music or who performed the music. I feel like there's not enough respect. I think we need to be aware that we're borrowing something from someone else."

　Machida is concerned about the fact that in most cases, permission is not obtained from the rights holder to use a song in a program, and even less consent is obtained for how to edit it to fit the performance time.

　Something happened that turned his fears into reality. The producer of ``House of the Rising Sun,'' which was used by the American pair Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier who competed in the Beijing Olympics, filed a lawsuit for unauthorized use.

"This lawsuit may make people realize that ``Oh, if someone uses my music in a way that I don't like, I can stop it,'' and similar lawsuits from musicians may occur more frequently in the future. If that happens, competition management will be in jeopardy. I think this will be the job of the governing body. To that end, we need to educate people about what copyright is and how to use music in accordance with copyright. As a member of staff, I am also prepared to go anywhere and speak if called upon."

　He emphasized the need for respect precisely because he believes it is important to use music in a way that is mutually pleasing and comfortable.

　He says he hopes professional skaters will play a role in spreading this awareness.

``Figure skating has developed together with music, so the essence of the culture is how to respond to music. In that sense, it is important to have a deep understanding of music, respect the musicians, and create works responsibly. I believe that professional skaters should be able to accomplish this. Many of the competitors are underage, so it's quite difficult. However, professional skaters are independent and perform as professionals. If you fulfil that responsibility, I think you will naturally produce good works.”

“Transfer between genres” from figures to the music industry

　Machida says this is based on the premise that it will be used in good faith, such as respecting music and acquiring knowledge about copyrights and other issues.

"On the other hand, figure skating also contributes to music. As I wrote about in a paper published in 2018, this is a phenomenon I termed 'inter-genre transfer.' Figure skating also has a considerable economic impact on the music industry, such as people buying performance CDs or attending orchestra concerts. I found this out through research.

　In other words, figure skating not only depends on music, but also contributes to the music industry to some extent. We need to have more conversations about archiving of performances, and I really want to talk to the music industry. I would appreciate their understanding since this is about handling rights used for the development of dance and artistic sports."
 

    There seems to be a lack of regard for skaters when it comes to rights of video footage. And it cannot be denied that the musical relationship is never unidirectional, but rather a mutually beneficial relationship. If you think about these things, there should be a way to change the reality of the extremely high barriers that exist for skaters to use footage and archive them without infringing on anyone’s rights.

Once again, he talks about the importance of archives and, above all, the meaning of preserving performance footage.

``Nowadays, there are media that transmit videos in various ways, such as on-demand and video posting sites. In this regard, companies are making efforts. For example, in the case of the All-Japan Championship, they made it possible to watch videos of the skaters participating. That's great and I hope it continues.

　My era was a turning point, where only the top groups were shown on terrestrial TV, so the only time my performances were broadcasted was towards the end of my competitive career. There are no archives. When I was an athlete, I didn't rewatch my performance and didn't pay much attention to it, but today's athletes watch videos and think about ways to jump better or analyse the causes of failures. Videos of performances are important not only for viewing, but also from the perspective of nurturing skaters, so I hope they will be able to accurately deliver them to the athletes.

　This is related to what I have already mentioned, but an environment where anyone can revisit past works anytime, anywhere is important in order to create better works. Figure skating is also a sport, so I tend to view things from a perspective of progressive history, which means that the future is better than the past.

　This may be true for technical aspects such as the number of rotations in a jump, but it is not true when it comes to the artistry of the performance. When I watch works from the 1970s, they incorporated such interesting movements or innovative choreography that no one would do these days.

　There are many works from the past that bring me such inspiration, so I think archives are really important. Also, even today, the number of choreographers is extremely small. These people alone are responsible for creating the performances of thousands of people. If it were me, my creativity would run out in an instant. I think it's important to trace the archives in order to enrich that fountain of creativity."

 

　Don't let the works remain buried. It also means valuing those works. The numerous works will become the foundation for shaping a richer future for figure skating.

 

Machida's thoughts on making people aware of the importance of "archives" are sure to spread beyond genres.