A little over a year ago here, I posted this…
So how is it that whenever politicians pick a recent piece of popular recorded music to use as a theme song for their campaigns, they almost invariably pick a record by someone who is against their candidacy? Donald Trump used Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" as his entrance and exit music for yesterday's announcement and, of course, today we have Neil Young saying nobody got his permission and he's supporting Bernie Sanders.
Is it my imagination or does this happen all the time with every politician? Newt Gingrich used "Eye of the Tiger" in his hapless campaign without getting any sort of clearance and okay from its composer or the artists who performed the record. Michele Bachmann, back when she thought she might get more than eleven votes for president, was using "American Girl" by Tom Petty against the wishes of Mr. Petty. Petty also objected when George W. Bush used his "I Won't Back Down." I seem to recall Sarah Palin doing this several times and I'm sure there must be Democratic candidates who did the same thing.
The folks at ASCAP, the composers' society, have put together a FAQ about the use of such music. Here it is in a PDF file. It took me five seconds to find this online. Does no one running a political campaign ever bother to check to see if they need permission? Or do they just not care if they violate a musician's rights?
So once again, we have his controversy…Trump using Queen's "We Are The Champions," for instance. Our pal Paul Harris explains that a recent segment on John Oliver's show got it slightly wrong. The issue isn't that the songwriters and artists aren't being paid for the use of their songs, at least when they're played in places like the convention halls in Cleveland and Philadelphia. That may be an issue when the songs are played in certain venues but the real problem is that the moral rights of the songwriters and performers are being ignored. Check out the above-linked PDF for more on this.
And the real problem — and the one I was really wondering about even if I forgot to say it — is that it seems foolish politically to use a popular song without its makers' okay. Don't you look like kind of a careless jerk when you use a Springsteen tune and the next day, the press is all about how Springsteen complains? Does that get you any votes? Then why do it?