The Rolling Stones, the familys of Luciano Pavarotti and George Harrison, The Turtles, Neil Young, R.E.M., and the Shangri-Las have asked that Donald Trump and his campaign stop using their songs. Mr. Trump has used the unauthorized recordings at his campaign stops as well as during the Republican National Convention. These uses are flagrant violations of the National Copyright Act and should be of concern to ALL musicians everywhere. Although Mr. Trump’s campaign said that they “paid for the use of the song(s)”, there is an implication that these musicians have endorsed Mr. Trump for president. There are too many uninformed people in the U.S. who will believe that these super-stars allow their songs to be used in support of the candidate.
The Rolling Stones: Donald Trump Defies Band’s Request to Cease Using ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’
Trump played the 1969 song at the end of his Republican National Convention speech. “We have requested Trump cease all use immediately,” the band said in May.
Donald Trump closed out the Republican National Convention [last] Thursday with the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and The Stones aren’t too thrilled about it.
The band took to Twitter to clarify that the song use is not an endorsement for Trump. “The Rolling Stones do not endorse Donald Trump. You Can’t Always Get What You Want was used without the band’s permission.”
The Rolling Stones do not endorse Donald Trump. You Can’t Always Get What You Want was used without the band’s permission. ~~ The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) July 22, 2016
The Rolling Stones have continuously asked Trump to refrain from using their music. In May, Trump walked out for his Indiana primary victory speech to “Start Me Up,” with a rep for the band telling Billboard at the time, “The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs. [The band] have requested that they cease all use immediately.”
Prior to Trump’s campaign use of “Start Me Up,” The Stones made public their distaste for the use of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Brown Sugar” during Trump’s campaign. The Rolling Stones are one of many artists who have asked Trump to stay clear of their hits while campaigning for the presidency, including Adele and R.E.M.
By Lauren Craddock
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7446637/rolling-stones-donald-trump-rnc-you-cant-always-get-what-you-want
Luciano Pavarotti: Late Singer’s Widow, Daughters Tell Donald Trump to Stop Unauthorized Use of Famous Aria
Nicoletta Mantovani wrote that Donald Trump’s “world vision” is incompatible with Pavarotti’s values after learning the campaign used his recording “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot.”
“The values of brotherhood and solidarity that Luciano Pavarotti upheld throughout his artistic career are incompatible with the world vision of the candidate Donald J. Trump,” wrote Pavarotti’s widow and three daughters.
Turtles Say Use of ‘Happy Together’ at RNC Was Unauthorized
Howard Kaylan of the Turtles and Flo and Eddie said in a post on Twitter July 18 there could be legal action against the Republican National Committee for its use of “Happy Together” at the Republican National Convention, which opened today in Cleveland, Ohio. “We never approved this use. Now we call the lawyers,” Kaylan, the Turtles’ lead singer on the song, wrote. USA Today reported the song was played shortly after “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “The Pledge of Allegiance” to open the convention.
It’s not the first instance of unauthorized use of songs by politicians. R.E.M., as reported by Rolling Stone, told Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee to stop using their music last September. And in June of 2015, Neil Young told NPR he was mad that Trump had used “Rockin’ in the Free World” to announce his presidential campaign. Trump also angered the Shangri-Las for using “Leader of the Pack” during his campaign rallies.
“Happy Together” debuted on the Billboard singles chart on Feb. 11, 1967. It was the band’s first No. 1 hit and the only one the group managed during the ’60s, though they had five Top 10 songs on the Billboard charts during that time.
By Steve Marinucci
http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7439150/the-turtles-happy-together-republican-national-convention-2016-unauthorized
Howard Kaylan: We never approved this use. Now we call the lawyers
https://twitter.com/rsofnaples/status/755088206593417216
Donald Trump and the Republican National Convention have incurred the wrath of yet another musician.
The George Harrison estate blasted the use of his hit “Here Comes the Sun” Thursday night as Ivanka Trump took the stage.
“The unauthorized use of #HereComestheSun at the #RNCinCLE is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate,” the estate tweeted late Thursday, as the RNC wrapped up in Cleveland.
The estate followed up with another tweet suggesting a more pessimistic song from Harrison’s post-Beatles repertoire: “If it had been Beware of Darkness, then we MAY have approved it! #TrumpYourself.
The Trump campaign and the RNC did not immediately return messages from CNNMoney. But they have a habit of angering rock stars by playing their songs.
On July 17, the day before the start of the four-day RNC, Queen protested Trump’s “unauthorized use” of “We Are the Champions.” But the RNC spokesman Sean Springer tweeted that the GOP convention paid to license the use of the song.
Other musicians, including the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, R.E.M. and Aerosmith have all asked Trump to stop playing their music at his rallies.
But that didn’t seem to deter the RNC, who played the Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” after Trump’s speech Thursday night. Trump has played that particular song at a number of rallies since he first announced his presidential campaign last year.
Political campaigns are supposed to obtain licenses to play copyrighted music, according to music licensing lawyer Lawrence Iser. Or they can play songs from the convention hall’s catalog of licensed music. Otherwise, it’s copyright infringement.
Iser successfully represented David Byrne in his copyright infringement lawsuit versus former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who played his song “Road to Nowhere.” But Iser said that a lot of musicians would rather express their discontent through social media instead.
“Could they bring a legal claim? Yes,” he said. “It ‘s just very expensive, and uncertain how it turns out.”
CNNMoney (New York) First published July 22, 2016: 10:01 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/22/media/trump-george-harrison-rnc/index.html
IN ADDITION: Chris Stevens: Mother of Ambassador Killed in Benghazi Asks Donald Trump, GOP to Stop Using Son’s Name. In a letter to The New York Times Friday, Mary F. Commanday called on the Trump campaign and the GOP to put an “immediate and permanent stop” to the “opportunistic and cynical use” of her son’s name.