celebrity.land
—
The day after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris to become the Democratic presidential nominee, celebrity.land reported that Beyoncé had given her approval for the vice president to use “Freedom” as his official campaign song. So it was a seemingly antagonistic choice when the Republican candidate’s campaign played the same Beyoncé song as the background of a recent social media video to feature former President Donald Trump.
From Celine Dion and Foo Fighters to Bruce Springsteen and Prince’s estate, numerous artists have objected over the years to the Trump campaign’s use of their music. But depending on how and where their music is used, legal experts say, musicians may have grounds for action beyond a reprimand.
In Beyoncé’s case, it wasn’t just a social media post. The Trump campaign has also used her music during at least one rally this summer, even though Beyoncé supported the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 and is a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party.
His song “Texas Hold ‘Em” from the album “Cowboy Carter” was played at a Trump event on July 31 at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, according to a video of the rally seen by celebrity.land.
Beyoncé’s representatives did not respond to celebrity.land’s requests for comment. But last week, Rolling Stone magazine reportedHis label threatened to send a cease-and-desist order to the Trump campaign after it used “Freedom” in the social media video, which was posted by Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
Shortly after Beyoncé’s team threatened legal action, the video was removed.
In a statement to celebrity.land, Cheung said he used “Freedom” to provoke the opposing party.
“The purpose of the post simply proved that Democrats are in favor of banning things, including freedom. They fell right into the trap,” Cheung said.
Music Licensing and Approvals
Music licensing and obtaining rights and clearances is an expensive, complicated and litigious business. Movie studios often pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain the rights to a single song, while brands can pay millions to repeat a tune in commercials to help sell a product.
Political campaigns are no exception.
“A license is required for any use of music, whether at a venue, a convention, online via YouTube or a social media platform,” attorney Heidy Vaquerano, a partner at the Los Angeles-based law firm Fox Rothschild who specializes in music, told celebrity.land.
Even if a license is obtained, artists could still object to the use of their music in political campaigns.
Just a few days ago, Foo Fighters said: They did not authorizeThe Trump campaign has asked the band to use their song “My Hero,” which was played at a rally in Arizona where Trump was joined by Robert Kennedy Jr. shortly after he endorsed the former president. A Foo Fighters representative told celebrity.land that the Trump campaign did not ask the band for permission and that any royalties received “as a result of this use will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign.”
Trump spokesman Cheung told celebrity.land: “We have a license to play the song.”
But the band’s representative reiterated: “Foo Fighters were not asked for permission, and if they had been asked they would not have granted it.”
There are some legal protections for artists around the use of their name, image or likeness. Even with a public performance license to play a song at a rally, the Trump campaign could be violating an artist’s publicity rights or committing a “false endorsement,” in which the use of an artist’s work implies [an] “The artist supports the candidate,” Vacquerano said.
For a political campaign to use an artist’s song on social media, the campaign would have to contact the artist’s songwriters, publisher and label to get their approval, he added.
When Trump ran for office in 2016 and 2020, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Neil Young, Pharrell, the Rolling Stones, Adele, Guns N’ Roses and the Beatles estate denounced Trump’s use of their music. That pattern has continued into this election cycle.
Earlier this month, Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” was played at a Trump rally in Bozeman, Montana, along with a video of the star singing on the big screen. The videos appeared on social mediaThe singer’s team has spoken out.
“This use is in no way authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use… And really, THAT song?” her team. published in X.
Isaac Hayes’ estate went a step further, filing a copyright infringement lawsuit against Trump for using the soul artist’s songs at rallies, also naming the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and the National Rifle Association among the defendants.
In the complaint, Hayes’ estate said Trump began using Hayes’ material as “outro” music at campaign events in 2020 and has continued to use his music in 2024, as seen in one of Trump’s recent postson Truth Social where Hayes’ song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” can be heard at a rally.
According to court documents obtained by celebrity.land, attorneys for the estate claim the campaign has not “obtained a valid license for its public performance” and are seeking “compensatory damages for unauthorized use” of Hayes’ music. Hayes’ estate was granted an emergency hearing on the matter in federal court on Sept. 3.
“See you in court” Hayes’ son publishedin X.
Trump has not commented publicly on the matter.
Vaquerano believes the Hayes estate has a viable case.
“If the campaign did not obtain the necessary licenses,” the attorney said, “then each use of the music constitutes a new infringing use and the respective copyright owners would be entitled to statutory damages and actual damages for loss of sales, licenses, revenue or other demonstrable financial loss caused by the Trump campaign’s use of the music.”
Trump is known to be selective about music. Sources with first-hand knowledge told celebrity.land that Trump chooses some of the songs for his rallies himself. At his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he picks the patio playlist on an iPad that he prepares for his dinner guests, according to these sources.
Back on the campaign trail, Trump might do well to stick to the music of artists who have endorsed him, such as Kid Rock.
Kristen Holmes of celebrity.land contributed to this report.
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: www.celebrity.land.com’
Add Comment