June 16, 2015
On the same day he announced his candidacy, Trump was denounced by Canadian-born singer-songwriter
Neil Young, who put out a statement saying Trump was “not authorized” to play ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ at his announcement and noting that Young was a supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
September 9, 2015
Rock band
R.E.M. said they “do not authorize or condone” Trump playing ‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It’ at a rally to oppose the Iran deal, with bassist Mike Mills telling Trump to, “cease and desist,” and lead singer Michael Stipe tweeting, “Go screw yourselves, the lot of you—you sad, attention grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign."
October 14, 2015
Trump begrudgingly agreed to stop using the music of 70’s rock band
Aerosmith, tweeting that lead singer Stephen Tyler “asked me not to,” and declaring he’d “have better one to take its place,” later claiming in a
follow-up tweet that Tyler “got more publicity on his song request than he’s gotten in ten years.”
February 1, 2016A spokesperson for
Adele decried Trump’s use of her songs ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Rolling in the Deep’ at his rallies, saying in a statement that the British pop singer “has not given permission for her music to be used for any political campaigning.”
February 2, 2016
British singer
Elton John, a
staple of the Trump presidency whose song ‘Rocketman’ was the inspiration for Trump’s eponymous nickname for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, slammed Trump for using his music, later
saying it was “nothing personal” and that he doesn’t want his music used in American elections.
July 19, 2016
British rock band
Queen persistently hit Trump and the GOP over their use of their use of ‘We Are The Champions’ at the 2016 Republican National Convention, saying in a statement that they were “frustrated by the repeated unauthorized use of the song after a previous request to desist,” and that the band “does not want its associated with any mainstream or political debate in any country.”
July 20, 2016
R&B groups
Earth, Wind & Fire and
The O’Jays echoed Queen’s complaints about the Republican Convention over the GOP’s use of ‘September’ and ‘Love Train,’ with Earth, Wind & Fire tweeting “Another unauthorized use (September) at the Republican Convention, against our wishes,” and the O’Jays saying Trump “may be the anti-Christ.”
July 22, 2016
British bands
The Beatles and
The Rolling Stones both decried the use of their music at the Republican Convention as well, with the estate of the late Beatles singer George Harrison stating, “The unauthorized use of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ at the RNC is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate,” joking that they may have approved the use of ‘Beware of Darkness.’
January 17, 2017
Twisted Sister guitarist and manager Jay Jay French claimed that singer Dee Snider, a one-time Celebrity Apprentice contestant and friend of Trump, quietly asked him to stop using ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as his campaign anthem after its use sparked outcry from his fans–one of the few instances where Trump complied.
October 30, 2018
Singer
Pharrell Williams sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump for playing ‘Happy’ at a rally in Indiana just hours after the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pennsylvania, which left 11 congregants dead, with his attorney writing in a letter, “there was nothing 'happy' about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose."
November 5, 2018
Attorneys for
Rihanna issued a cease-and-desist order over Trump’s use of ‘Don’t Stop The Music,’ declaring that the Barbadian singer “has not provided her consent to Mr. Trump to use her music. Such use is therefore improper,” and that use of the song “creates a false impression that Ms. Fenty is affiliated with, connected to or otherwise associated with Trump.”
November 5, 2018
Guns N’ Roses lead vocalist Axl Rose tweeted that, like many other artists, the band “has formally requested our music not be used at Trump rallies or Trump associated events,” but that the campaign “is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent.”
October 11, 2019
After filing a copyright complaint, Canadian rock band
Nickelback succeeded in getting Twitter to remove a manipulated version of the music video for their song ‘Photograph,’ tweeted by Trump, which attempted to tie former Vice President Joe Biden to a Ukrainian gas executive.
October 14, 2019
The estate of the late singer
Prince claimed that Trump “confirmed a year ago that the campaign would not use Prince’s music” and said they would “never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs,” after he played ‘Purple Rain’ at a rally in Minneapolis.
January 15, 2020
R.E.M. said they were “exploring all legal avenues” to prevent Trump from using their music at his rallies after he played ‘Everybody Hurts’ and ‘Losing My Religion’ at a rally in Milwaukee, adding “please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man.”
June 22, 2020
The family of late singer
Tom Petty said in a statement that Trump was “in no way authorized” to play ‘I Won’t Back Down’ at his Tulsa rally, adding that Petty and his family “firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind,” calling the Trump campaign a “campaign of hate” and issuing a cease-and-desist notice.
June 24, 2020
Panic! At the Disco vocalist Brendon Urie tweeted, “Dear Trump Campaign, you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song,” and said Trump “represents nothing we stand for. The highest hope we have is voting this monster out in November,” after Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. walked out to ‘High Hopes’ at a rally in Phoenix.
June 28, 2020
The Rolling Stones said in a statement that they are working with music rights company BMI to stop Trump from playing their songs at his rally after he played ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ at his rally in Tulsa, adding that BMI has “notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorized use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement,” and that if he continues to use their music, “he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed.”
www.theguardian.com
