Over the past nine or so years the same strange and uncomfortable moment has been experienced by some of our top recording artists. Presumably, this is felt and marks an experience reserved just for them because of their talents, and it seems that it would hit as a combination of feelings: sheer dread and stark indignance or the sadness that comes with profound loss mixed with the malice that rides with betrayal or a theft. This is the moment when a handful of the most talented musicians of the past 50-plus years learned that Donald Trump, or his campaign team, has plucked one of their songs — in most cases, one of the musician’s finest hours — and used it, without permission, to propel his presidential campaign.
R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, Neil Young — these are a few of the artists who likely felt the disbelief that comes with learning that their deeply personal work, those soul-searching lyrics, perfectly-crafted music and their bursts of expression, were co-opted to push an agenda to which they have deep opposition. All three artists along with many others, have grabbed headlines for denouncing the unauthorized use of their work by Trump in the 2016 and 2020 races; R.E.M. threatened legal action against “45” while Guns N’ Roses riffed on their infringed-upon hit Wings cover by creating Trump-related T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase, “Live N’ Let Die with COVID 45.”
As the nation is now entrenched in the former president’s third race for the White House, and given the myriad tweets and statements denouncing the use of many songs, the ignored cease and desist notices, and the air of unbridled rage surrounding the matter, one would think Trump and his team would begin to exercise caution on the selection of tunes played to excite or otherwise influence the emotions of his current and would-be supporters. But then, why should Trump and his staff bother? Until recently, not one artist has filed a lawsuit against Trump and stuck it out in court for using these songs without permission. This is because, as attorney James L. Walker previously told The Hollywood Reporter, the hassle and the price tag of suing Trump is a major deterrent; most anyone doesn’t have the time or bandwidth to drag Trump to court — which, with the former president, has become the common reasoning to just walk away and allow his questionable business practices to continue.
However, this may all change next week when Trump, his campaign and several of its boosters will face Isaac Hayes III in an Atlanta courtroom. Hayes is the first to go through with a suit related to Team Trump’s frequent and unapologetic tendency toward infringing on copyright. To mark the occasion, THR has compiled all of the songs that Trump has used in the 2024 campaign, only to get bitten by the wrath of the artist or rights-holder in the public sphere.
The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
“Oh….Don’t even think about using my music you fascists,” White posted on Instagram on Thursday after a Trump communications staffer posted a video showing the candidate walking onto a plane as he headed to Michigan, White’s home state. “Lawsuit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your five thousand others).” They never learn, do they? The whole situation echoes a similar use of “Seven Nation Army” in a 2016 Trump campaign ad. Back then, White and his record label released a merch series with “Icky Trump” swapped in for the band’s then-most-recent album, Icky Thump.
Sinéad O’Connor – “Nothing Compares 2 U”
A joint statement denouncing Trump’s use of O’Connor’s massive hit came from the late singer’s estate and record label after his campaign played the song — written by Prince for his band, The Family, and later rearranged in a cover by the Irish singer-songwriter — at rallies in North Carolina and Maryland in March. “It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she, herself, referred to as a ‘biblical devil,’” the statement read. “As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.” Ouch.
The Smiths – “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”
The Smiths’ tender ballad, written in waltz-time, being piped into the massive venues where Trump held a January rally in New Hampshire and it soon emerged, in 2023 in South Dakota, was jarring for fans of the beloved 1980s Manchester band. But it was just too much for Johnny Marr, who wrote the music to which frontman Morrissey croons out lyrics that pull off being both bitingly ironic and deeply sincere. “Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now,” Marr wrote on X (formerly Twitter) following the use of the song, originally a b-side to an early hit single. Morrissey, whose political slide to the far right saw him praising the right-wing, populist U.K. Independence party and Reform U.K. party leader Nigel Farage, never publicly commented on the classic track’s use by Trump.
Celine Dion – “My Heart Will Go On”
At a rally in Montana earlier in August, a video showed Trump playing Dion’s iconic Titanic theme song as the crowd swayed and tears were jerked. Dion, it seems, could not believe it, and fresh off her show-stopping performance at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, she took time out of her busy schedule to ensure that he heard about Queen Céline’s disapproval. The singer’s management and Sony Music Canada fired off a joint statement indicating that “in no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” they wrote, finishing off with the jab, “And really…that song?” As they say, if you come for the queen, best not miss.
Sam & Dave – “Hold On I’m Comin’”
Here’s the 1966 classic track that could end Team Trump’s reckless attitude toward copyright. “Hold On, I’m Comin’” was co-written by legendary singer Isaac Hayes in the 1960s. Now, Hayes’ estate, led by his son, Isaac Hayes III, is suing the Trump camp for use of the Sam & Dave hit during its rallies. The songwriter’s son said that by his count, it’s been used at least 135 times over the past several years without Trump’s team ever asking permission or paying the estate to license the soul classic. Hayes told THR that he was outraged when, at a 2022 National Rifle Association rally that occurred in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, where 19 children and two adults were murdered, Trump closed his speech to that particular track while dancing. “I expect a full takedown of the song and the amount that was requested,” Hayes told THR this month. “And never, never use that song again.”
Foo Fighters – “My Hero”
When bringing former independent candidate and bear cub corpse jokester Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at an Arizona rally, Trump had Foo Fighters’ favorite “My Hero” playing through the stadium. Dave Grohl and company had a curt reply when this news came over the transom: “No”. A bit of a spat came after this when a rep for the Trump campaign asserted that the rights to the song had been cleared for the GOP candidate; he even tweeted at the band, using Foo Fighters songs: “It’s Times Like These facts matter, don’t be a Pretender,” Steven Cheung wrote. The band got the last laugh, however, when it announced that any increased royalties from the song following its use at the Arizona event would be donated to Kamala Harris’ campaign.
ABBA – “Money, Money, Money”
Just this week, the Swedish superstars of ABBA likely felt that particular sting unique to the moment one sees Trump’s campaign when it has co-opted a brilliant work. But for the beloved ABBA, it was multiple hits that were used without permission — the actually Trump-appropriate “Money, Money, Money”; “The Winner Takes it All”; and their biggest song, “Dancing Queen.” The group has released an official statement and cease-and-desist demand; the band also asked Team Trump that all footage containing their hits be removed from any platforms where they appear.
Beyonce – “Freedom”
This powerful track, now synonymous with the 2020 protests that rattled the nation and helped to elevate its awareness around its issues with racism that came after the police murder of George Floyd, as well as the campaign of Trump’s Democratic rival Harris was scooped up and used without permission by a higher-up in Trump’s camp, then immediately shot down and called out by anyone who saw what the GOP spokesman was trying to do but failing at spectacularly. Next came those words: cease and desist and the wonder, both of what this staffer was thinking and when someone else in the GOP leader’s campaign is going to pull something ridiculous like that again.
