Donald Trump campaign is once again targeted for song use; is ASCAP license enough?
Donald Trump. a katz / Shutterstock.com
Donald Trump is once again feeling the wrath of a musician who claims the Republican presidential candidate is using his music without permission.
A lawyer for Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler sent Trump a letter Saturday demanding that the candidate stop using Aerosmith’s 1973 hit “Dream On” at campaign events, the New York Times reports.
Trump was previously targeted by the group R.E.M. for his use of the song “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” And before that, he was criticized by Neil Young for using “Rockin in the Free World.”
After Young’s complaint, Trump’s campaign said it had secured a public performance license from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). In addition, the Times points out, campaign events are often held at venues that already have music licenses from ASCAP and BMI.
The law is “somewhat unclear,” according to the Times, because politicians often stop using songs in response to a musician’s request, and cases that do make it to court often settle.
Tyler’s lawyer said in the letter that Trump had violated Tyler’s right of publicity. The letter also mentioned the Lanham Act, suggesting Trump’s use of the song could be viewed as a false endorsement under the law. Sherwin Siy, vice president of legal affairs at the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, identified one problem with that approach. “You have to show that people actually think it is an endorsement,” he told the Times.
Other candidates targeted by musicians:
• Mike Huckabee, who used Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” at an event with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
• Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who used music by the Dropkick Murphys.
