Donald Trump’s campaign will not be silent about artists blocking him from using their songs at his rallies.
After the former president embarked on a 39-minute musical accompaniment at one of his campaign events, the Republican National Committee responded to the criticism.
RNC spokesperson Taylor Rogers spoke with Billboard and noted that Trump’s campaign had appropriate licenses from performing rights organizations BMI and ASCAP to play the music heard at his Pennsylvania rally.
“It’s a shame that some artists want to limit half the country from enjoying their music,” Rogers said.
The event in Pennsylvania was meant to be a Q&A before Trump paused the questions and instead launched into a tour in which he played various songs and artists for nearly 40 minutes.
“Let’s stop asking. Let’s just listen to the music. We’ll play some music. Let’s turn this into a music festival,” he said.
During the musical’s overture, Trump played songs such as Ave Maria and his cover of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen and Rufus Wainwright, as well as “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor.
After two medical incidents involving people in the crowd, former President Donald Trump stopped taking questions Monday during a rally in Pennsylvania. Instead, for about 40 minutes, he asked his assistants to play some of his favorite music while he danced and clapped. pic.twitter.com/WydUUaAgHG
– CBS News (@CBSNews) October 15, 2024
Wainwright spoke about Trump using his cover at the rally, where he said he was “embarrassed.”
“Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Hallelujah’ has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of truth. Over the years, I have been deeply honored to be associated with this ode to tolerance. “Watching Trump and his supporters sympathize with this music last night was the height of blasphemy,” he said on Instagram.
O’Connor’s estate also previously asked Trump to stop using her cover of Prince’s classic song before the rally took place.
One person who approved of Trump’s use of his songs was Victor Willis of the Village People.
In an interview with TMZ, he said that Trump was legally allowed to use “YMCA” at his rallies because he had previously applied for a political use license from the performing rights organization by Victor, BMI.
He told the outlet: “Trump’s use of ‘YMCA’ benefited the song greatly. For example, when Trump started using ‘YMCA,’ the song went back to No. 2 on the charts.” Billboard digital chart”.
Willis went on to note that he did not support the Republican nominee even though he approved of the song’s use.
Tags Donald Trump, Sinead O’Connor, Rufus Wainwright