Abba Is Upset That Trump Is Utilizing Tunes For His Campaign.
The Swedish pop group Abba has expressed dissatisfaction following the performance of tunes such as “The Winner Takes It All” at a Donald Trump campaign rally.
According to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, the group’s songs and videos, including Dancing Queen and Money, Money, Money, were also played during the event in Minnesota in July.
The band’s record label, Universal Music, released the following statement to the Reuters news agency: “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 label stated that Mr. Trump’s campaign had not received any authorization or license.
The latest artist or artist estate to protest Mr. Trump’s use of their music to further his presidential campaign is Abba.
Foo Fighters said on social media this week that they hadn’t given their OK for My Hero to be played at a Trump event. According to The Independent, the Trump campaign claimed they received permission to use the song.
Any profits that the band received from the Trump campaign for utilizing the song will be donated to Kamala Harris’s campaign, an official for the band informed the outlet.
The family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes demanded $3 million (£2.4 million) in licensing costs from Mr. Trump and ordered him to cease playing Hold On, I’m Coming last month. Celine Dion’s team denounced the “unauthorised” use of a snippet from My Heart Will Go On.
He was ordered to stop playing Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinéad O’Connor’s estate in March, citing her “disgusted, hurt, and insulted” reaction.
In the past, prominent musicians like Adele, REM, and the Rolling Stones have asked that he not utilize their songs.
But musicians’ attempts to prevent politicians from utilizing their music have not always been successful.
Campaigns in the United States must obtain a Political Entities License from BMI, the music rights body, in order to utilize more than 20 million tracks for their rallies.
Requests for music to be removed from the list can be made by publishers and artists, but it doesn’t seem like the organizers frequently check the database to make sure they have permission.
