Information guide for Official Olympic Albums and where to purchase Olympic music of the Summer and Winter Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
If you are a fan of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and want purchase information for available Olympic albums, soundtracks or individual MP3 digital song downloads, perhaps I can assist.
In most cases I have found people are looking for an official song, recording or playlist by artists performing during a Summer or Winter Games Opening and Closing Ceremony.
Finding official music albums sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can be time consuming so my objective is to provide accurate assistance to visitors.
Since I have covered music news related to the Olympic Games for several years, I can pass along detailed information on the availability of specific Olympic music selections and purchasing details like where to sample or buy official albums.
Whether you want to buy the official music of the Sochi Opening and Closing Ceremonies or find authorized albums from past Olympic Games, availability varies for each Olympic venue.
Even if an authentic recording is offered they don’t get much marketing support from the IOC, and some albums or soundtracks are available for purchase while others are not.
For example the newest release, Official Album of Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, was made available on February 3, 2014. Another example is Isles Of Wonder: Music For The Opening Ceremony Of The London 2012 Olympic Games, & Enlightenment – Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games are available, and can easily be found at online retail stores like iTunes or Amazon.
Likewise there are additional official albums to sample or purchase from earlier Opening and Closing Olympic Ceremonies. Each are unique in their own way, and provided below is a list of available albums to choose from.
In the event an album is not offered and you want to find a track list of songs by performing artists so you may purchase the individual songs yourself, creating your own playlist can be obtained by several methods.
Major news organizations, especially a news organization in the host country, provide an accurate description of the ceremony events in the specific order they were performed.
Another source to find an official album or list of artists and a track list of songs is Wikipedia. Simply enter search criteria related to the specific Olympic Opening or Closing Ceremony of the host country you are looking for. Various sporting or music blogs, including this one, provide accurate, detailed information for their visitors too.
One word of advice is to make a determination of whether or not the album or songs you want to buy are actual selections from an authorized album. This is especially true when searching for an official Olympic album at online retailers like iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby. The album cover and product details will tell you a lot, since they are marketed as “un-official.”
Music artists will sometimes market a “tribute album” which is made in good faith in honor of the games, but they are not endorsed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The majority of artists will show integrity by clearly indicating the marketing status of their music product as a tribute album only.
You can usually determine tribute albums by checking the release date, which typically show the date released days or months prior to an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
Tribute albums can be original music or have a playlist of national anthems, ceremony fanfares and theme songs of the actual music. Although these are not authentic releases, tribute albums and songs can be a worthwhile product to purchase.
Many available products are professional symphony pieces performed by famous concert orchestras, but they too are merely offering their version of an actual song.
One final piece of information concerning official Olympic music is the fact most official albums are not a recorded live performance of an Opening and Closing Ceremony itself.
In other words the selections you may be interested in purchasing might not be in the order performed, and specific songs may be added or various artists may not be included in the official version. All things considered, authentic Olympic and Paralympic albums are of course, a one of a kind collectable recording.
With the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil two years away, it is unknown at this time whether there will be an official Rio Summer Games album. One feature we can count on and look forward to is the Rio Olympic Opening and Closing ceremonies. The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics are sure to be as thrilling as the Brazilian Carnivals themselves!
Find a list of official Olympic albums at Amazon.com, and read my category section dedicated to Official Olympic Songs. Big Stock Photos of statues in Kiev, Ukraine and Vienna, Austria by Dogi78, Jozo & Kyolshin.