NOT a political statement; copyright violation issue | By Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone | Rock legend Neil Young has slapped a Trump fundraising committee with a $10 million lawsuit over the use of his song, “Rockin’ in the Free World,” at an Ohio rally this month.
According to the five-page filing obtained by Rolling Stone, Trump was “personally aware that a license would be required” to play the song at an event, and he also knew Young “has not and would not grant the required license.” The unauthorized use happened despite a prior lawsuit and 2020 settlement in which Trump allegedly agreed never to use Young’s music without permission, the new complaint states. (Trump is not named as an individual defendant in the Monday complaint.)
“‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ is a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless, and forgotten,” Young and his lawyers, Robert Besser and Scott Simmons, wrote in the new complaint. “The lyrics paint vivid street-level portraits of a mother discarding her baby, addicts lost in despair, garbage piling in the shadows of prosperity, while the repeated chorus delivers a savage irony, celebrating freedom that clearly isn’t shared by all.”
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Go here to read more on this continuing copyright violation issue:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/neil-young-sues-trump-pac-013018594.html
Photo: Neil Young | From Now This Impact’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/nowthisimpact
