Yet again, the Trump campaign is being sued by a band for unauthorized use of a song. One would think that they’d have learned, given the number of cease and desist orders filed against them by various artists, but apparently not. The White Stripes are coming with an army behind them, specifically a Seven Nation Army compliments of the White Stripes.
Perhaps part of the problem is that this is so straightforward according to JoeMyGod:
In a complaint filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, Jack White and Meg White accused Trump and his campaign of “flagrant misappropriation” of one of the “most well-known and influential musical works of all time.”
The song is most certainly an iconic work as evidenced by the fact that Trump wouldn’t have absconded with it in the first place were it not. There is a positive feedback loop in there somewhere. Onward:
In their lawsuit on Monday, the White Stripes said that Trump knew or should have known that he needed a license to play their song in his video — citing the fact that he has been “on the receiving end of numerous copyright claims by musical artists whose work he used without permission.”
Ewww, who wants to file a lawsuit with facts premised on what Trump “knew” at any given point? I suppose that’s unfair, it’s far more likely that campaign staff picks the music and just as possible that Trump can’t count to seven.
So what are we talking about? I’m a bit lost on that myself. Let’s play the song for those unfamiliar. Skip below if you’ve heard this more times than I’ve had pizza:
Right.
So why does the Trump campaign keep doing it and why do artists keep suing them? For one thing, music people are a notoriously odd bunch, way out on society’s edges and most definitely not where the typical Trump-supporter can be found. Maybe bands would sue anybody who used their music? We’ll never know because by all appearances, Democratic campaigns get licensing rights. Has anyone ever heard of a Democratic campaign getting sued?
Or no artist cares, take your pick.
An even better question is why politicians need walk out music in the first place. True, presidential politics looks more like a title fight than civic discourse. Still. Really? Is that where we are? No self-respecting nation should put up with this. We do though, and what does that say?
About the same as the lawsuit, not much. “They used it. We own it. We said ‘stop.’ They didn’t – pay us.” And that’s about it. How does one defend that?
Let me know if you figure it out. The Trump campaign still hasn’t.
I think Team Trump knows about copyright and simply doesn’t care. Trump’s attitude is “sue me if you don’t like it” and he figures, with some justification that most artists won’t bother. That a succession of them aren’t only publicly calling him out but demanding royalties and even filing lawsuits should be getting his attention. More legal fees are the last thing Trump needs and while many artists/groups don’t have the resources to engage in a real legal fight I gather some of those (like Isaac Hayes’ estate) DO. I still don’t think it will stop Trump from just moving on and picking someone else’s music and daring THEM to sue. Hey, if in his dark moments he contemplates actually losing artists suing him will be the least of his worries.
What I find so funny is that there ARE a handful of artists who’d gladly provide music for Trump’s rallies. Ted Nugent who’s only hit as I recall was Cat Scratch Fever might not have been all that great a walk-on song even before J.D. Vance but he’s got other crap he’s screeched out. Kid Rock? Loser. BORE-ING and he plagarizes part of his stuff from others. Lee Greenwood who like Nugent and Trump was a Vietnam draft dodger has his nauseating Proud To Be An American (although he did NOT stand up next to me or others to defend her when he could and should have!) is a regular but it doesn’t rock the house. And other “hits” like The Streak (given Trump’s sexual misdeeds) or Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer aren’t really rally music candidates.
Then we have daughter-in-law Lara. This is one of the rare time when I have to say ‘good on you dude’ to Trump for saying NO F**KING WAY to subjecting everyone to Lara’s singing! I’m sure she’s offered to do covers of any number of other’s works. Or even played him some of her original creations. Even Trump knows better than to resort to Lara for rally music!
You’d think there would be at least one haflway decent rock musician out there that’s a Trump fan and who has a catchy tune or two people are familiar with. A song that could get the crowd clapping and dancing & singing along. But apparently there isn’t! I find that funny as hell.
Yeah, that is funny when I think about it. Usually, musicians are dying for airplay, … seems like it is saying something if artists don’t want to be seen or associated with anywhere near you.
Well, Nugent was also a member of the early 90s rock group, Damn Yankees (along with Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger; also in the group was Michael Cartellone who played drums) and Nugent is credited as an equal songwriter of the group’s two albums (the group’s biggest pop hit was the song “High Enough” which got to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990) and Nugent was the leader of the late 60s/early 70s rock group, the Amboy Dukes and he wrote or co-wrote most of the group’s material (they released 7 albums, including a live album, before Nugent went solo; the Dukes’ biggest pop hit was a song called “Journey to the Center of the Mind” which got to #16 on the Hot 100 in 1968).
With regards to the Damn Yankees’ stuff, I don’t know if Nugent would have to get clearance from Shaw and Blades or if he could just use it as he wishes.
On the Lee Greenwood bit, um, huh? For starters Greenwood’s big hit was called “God Bless the USA” and, as for the other two songs, as far as I’m aware, neither of those is Greenwood’s. “The Streak” came from the legendary Ray Stevens (it charted some 7 years before Greenwood came on the scene). Stevens is also well-known for songs like “Everything Is Beautiful” and “Gitarzan.”
Terrible Ted’s other big number was Wang Dang Sweet Poontang, which IIRC referenced 13 year-old groupies. But TT claims it was just fantasy.
Trump and Vance definitely have a case of Cat Scratch Fever.
As someone who does music and gets paid almost nothing, it would be pretty bad if I felt my music was being used to represent someone found disagreeable. I don’t know that there is much anyone can do about it, even if it is copyrighted, … and you are not Disney (who has a cadre of lawyers), but all power to them if they can.
You wouldn’t like someone misrepresenting your writing. Maybe there is not much you can do about it either. Just as in academia, it would be hard to go after someone who spoke falsely about a work. (There are all sorts of “interpretations”.) So, someone who has invested the time and energy to write and perform a song that finally got some airplay, you can bet that the authors may resent being misrepresented.
Ditto brother.
Yeah, seen that a bit myself. It’s really a bummer if it’s used and improved.
Copyrights either mean something or they don’t. If they are meaningless, get the f*ck rid of them. I think they have meaning and should be enforced to the fullest extent possible. I would venture to say that artists who do not want their music associated with one pol or another ought to be able to sue pols who use their music without permission as some form of defamation. While I’m sure nugent or kid rock would be thrilled to have their music associated with a lying p.o.s. like trump, musicians with even a shred of dignity probably wouldn’t be thrilled at all.
I often wonder how Fleetwood Mac feel after their music from Rumors was used so damned much during Bill Clinton’s campaign that nobody wanted to hear the stuff ever again.