MUSIC
ABBA asks Donald Trump not to use their songs at rallies: which other artists have banned their use?
The iconic Swedish pop group are the latest in a line of musicians calling on Trump to desist from using their repertoire. to promote his presidential campaign.
The members of Swedish pop group ABBA have asked U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to stop using their music and videos at his campaign rallies, the band’s record label Universal said on Thursday.
ABBA classics such as “The Winner Takes It All”, “Money, Money, Money” and “Dancing Queen” were played at a Republican rally held by Trump and his running mate JD Vance on 27 July in Minnesota, accompanied by videos, said Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, which had a reporter at the event.
“Together with the members of ABBA, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA’s music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down,” the band’s record label Universal Music said in a statement.
They added: “Universal Music Publishing AB and Polar Music International AB have not received any request, so no permission or licence has been given to Trump. ”It said no permission or licence had been granted to the Trump campaign.
The members of the band declined to comment further, a representative told reporters, adding that they fully supported Universal’s statement and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other artists say ‘no’ to Trump
ABBA join an ever-growing list of high profile musicians who have objected to their music being played at Trump events over the years, including late American singer-guitarist Tom Petty, British singer-songwriter Adele, and rock band R.E.M.
In April, late Irish singer and activist Sinéad O’Connor’s label also demanded the Trump campaign stop using her music.
Canadian singer Celine Dion and her label earlier this month made a similar complaint, calling the use of her performance “unauthorized”.
Neil Young was another musician who objected to Trump using his songs initially complaining about Trump’s use of Rockin’ in the Free World on the campaign trail in 2015, but Trump’s team argued they had a performance licence for the song.
Young filed the lawsuit in August (2015), after his songs Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk were used at a Trump rally in Tulsa. He claimed copyright infringement, with the complaint stating that Young “cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate”.
A few years later the case was settled out of court, though neither the president’s team nor Young has made any further statement.