Controversial businessman and GOP hopeful for the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, who is currently trailing Sen. Cruz in Iowa results, has been issued a warning regarding copyright of songs that he uses without proper licence to do such. Pop star Adele has issued a statement to distance herself from Donald Trump, after he used her music at his rallies. The Republican presidential candidate, whose slogan is “Make America great again”, has recently been playing Adele’s hit ‘Rolling In The Deep’ as his “warm-up” music in South Carolina.
Pop star says Trump gave false impression of endorsement
It is not the first time Trump has been criticized for appropriating pop songs. “Adele has not given permission for her music to be used for any political campaigning,” her spokesman confirmed. Similarly, lawyers for Aerosmith star Steven Tyler sent Trump’s campaign a cease-and-desist letter last year, after the politician played the band’s hit single Dream On at numerous rallies and campaigns around the US. The letter said Trump’s use of the song gave “a false impression” he endorsed Mr Trump’s presidential bid. Mr. Trump responded on his Twitter handle, saying he had the legal right to use the song, but had found “a better one to take its place”. “Steven Tyler got more publicity on his song request than he’s gotten in 10 years. Good for him!” he added.
Trump is believed to be a fan of Adele
Trump is believed to be a fan of the singer’s work, even having watched her perform in New York. According to the BBC, the businessman had played several songs belonging to different artists, not minding whether they support him or not. Such case is Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, which Trump used while announcing his candidacy. Young, a well-known liberal, demanded that Trump stop using the song and declared his support for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders instead. Trump then used REM’s It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine), prompting singer Michael Stipe to issue a strongly-worded statement, saying: “Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.”
Technically, US copyright laws give politicians carte blanche to use recorded music at their rallies as long as the venue has a public performance licence issued through a songwriters’ association such as ASCAP or BMI (US) or PRS (UK).
