Usually when a sport needs music the athlete or team plan a routine around a song. Some might choose a song that’s well known in their country but not universally known. If it’s a folk song it might come off as royalty free.

With the breakdancing they had live DJs cutting songs together and the dancers had to adlib their routines. According to this article the Olympics licensed around 400 songs for the DJs to use. Since each battle used multiple songs you’re going to hear more tracks that you know and forget about the ones you don’t.

Hmmm. A Ukrainian girl used Michael Jackson’s Thriller during her rhythmic gymnastics number. I don’t think that’s royalty free. And the US artistic swimming team used Smooth Criminal, also by Michael Jackson.

Now I’m imaging Olympic Breakdancing to like “Yankee Doodle” or some other public domain song.

I’m not familiar with it, but my guess would be that since the event requires a certain style of music, there probably aren’t any appropriate songs in public domain.

This is one of those times where agreeing to do something ‘for the exposure’ is actually probably worth it. Your song is going to be played on a world stage, You really gonna say no?

If you were the artist/label and Olympics asked to use your music. You’d say, “What?!?!” And the beat would bounce quicker than your ass letting loose of that latest burrito from Taco Bell.

Make perfect sense to use influencial hip hop music for breakdance

Didn’t all 3 podium winners of one of the gymnastics events dance to Beyonce?

Historic hip-hop still comes with royalties.