Dem
51
GOP
49
You know, Donald Trump can use the song "God Bless the USA," by Lee Greenwood, to his heart's content. He also has the catalogs of Ted Nugent and Kid Rock at his disposal. Apparently that is not enough, however. In just the past month (or so), he's gotten blowback from a bunch of artists who are not one of those three men, and who don't want Trump using their music. Here's a rundown:
Remember, this is just a month's worth. There were undoubtedly more angry musicians before that, and there will be more as the campaign reaches the finish line.
We know some readers are interested in the legalities here, so we'll give a brief overview. Public venues, like sports stadiums and bars and restaurants, can purchase a license from one or more of the major performance rights associations (ASCAP, BMI and/or SESAC) that entitles that venue to play any song in that association's catalog, albeit sometimes with some songs excluded. What the venue is supposed to do is keep track of what songs are played during the lifetime of the license, and then the organization will divide up the licensing fee among the artists whose work was used. In other words, if Joe's Bar and Grill paid $10,000 for its license this year, and 5% of the songs played over the course of the year were Led Zeppelin songs, then the rights-holders of Led Zeppelin songs get $500.
A political campaign can also acquire the same sort of license. And, as with Joe's Bar and Grill, they are supposed to keep track of what songs are used and file a report with ASCAP/BMI/SESAC. The Isaac Hayes lawsuit, which we note above, asserts that the Trump campaign has never documented or paid for any of its 135 uses of the Hayes song. It's not clear if the Trump campaign just decided not to get a license, or if it has a license but isn't doing its documentation properly. Note, incidentally, that there is also paperwork if an artist "gives away" the right to use their music. That's a campaign contribution, and has to be handled as such, up to and including the upper limit on contributions (i.e., they can only waive $3,300 in royalties per election).
Further, even if an artist's music is covered by a performance license, the artist still has rights. Most relevant, in this particular case, is that any group or venue that holds a public performance license cannot turn around and use an artist's music to imply an endorsement. For example, Ford Field in Detroit is entitled to play Bruce Springsteen songs during Lions games, but that does not mean that Ford can turn around and use Springsteen's music in Ford commercials (at least, not without additional permissions). Obviously, the line between "public performance" and "endorsement" gets a little fuzzy when we are talking about a campaign event, which is much more overtly political than a football game or a night at Joe's Bar and Grill. Normally, what happens is that the artist advises that they want their songs excluded from the license granted to [Candidate X], and their licensor agrees. At that point, if Trump or any other candidate so affected decides to keep playing the songs, they are just gambling they won't get sued.
Back to the schadenfreude, Trump has always wanted to be one of the cool kids, and to be accepted by the cultural elite. But none of the cool kids are interested, and the only artists who want to have anything to do with him are broken-down old has-beens. This is the price of conducting yourself as Trump has. To adapt an old phrase, and to take a cue from Jack White: "Play fascist games, win fascist prizes." (Z)