Send a email to info@donaldtrump.com with the following content (from brianmay.com):
“Sony/ATV Music Publishing has never been asked by Mr. Trump, the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization for permission to use “We are the Champions” by Queen. On behalf of the band, we are frustrated by the repeated unauthorized use of the song after a previous request to desist, which has obviously been ignored by Mr. Trump and his campaign.
Queen does not want its music associated with any mainstream or political debate in any country. Nor does Queen want “We are the Champions” to be used as an endorsement of Mr. Trump and the political views of the Republican Party. We trust, hope and expect that Mr. Trump and his campaign will respect these wishes moving forward.”
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Please Note: This is NOT a statement from the Band.
link
"Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer says party paid to license the song"
...which is clearly a bold-faced lie.
It's fascinating to watch how far Trump and the republican party will go. It's now risking a multi-million dollar lawsuit for no particularly good reason.
Not sure if it works like this in the US, but in the UK and much of Europe individual venues hold licences to play music (live or recorded) in public
If this is the case in the US whatever venue Trump is spilling his guts in to his usual narrow minded audience, could be covered for what ever music is played. It would therefore be down to Trump himself to agree that Queen don't want me to play their music so I'll stop. There may be no legal reason for him to and all Queen could do is publicaly distance themselves from this.
Vocal harmony wrote:
Not sure if it works like this in the US, but in the UK and much of Europe individual venues hold licences to play music (live or recorded) in public
Correct - so if one doesn't go to the publisher directly, they must go to a society for music publishers (such as ASCAP in the US or PRS in the UK) for a blanket license. After a license is paid for, the money trickles down to the publisher, which in this case is Sony, who says they have received no communication on this matter.
The event is being held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, and one would assume that they have a performance license, as concerts are played there regularly. But clearly the arena's license does not apply to political events (or at least, this particular one) as, and I quote the CBC, "Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer said in a tweet on Tuesday that the party had paid to license the use of the song in the arena."
Which means they were required to purchase a separate license, which they clearly didn't, as per Sony themselves tweeting about how the Republican party doesn't have a license to play Queen's music at this event.
Methinks I believe Sony over some meathead from the Republican party.
But they don't care. Last year, if Mike Huckabee didn't have a license to use Eye Of The Tiger and just had to pay Survivor $25,000 after the fact, then the Republican base just won't notice or care. This is why said meathead can get away with lying. Facts and ethics be damned.
It's sad to see the GOP, the party that abolished slavery, sink so low today.
The Real Wizard wrote: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-s-use-of-we-are-the-champions-unauthorized-band-says-1.3686160
"Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer says party paid to license the song"
...which is clearly a bold-faced lie.
It's fascinating to watch how far Trump and the republican party will go. It's now risking a multi-million dollar lawsuit for no particularly good reason.
Publicity.
Seriously, Trump isn't stupid. He doesn't care what kind of bad stuff people say about him.
I'm not supporting him in any way, but I gotta hand it to him: He's playing the game exceptionally well.
Vocal harmony wrote:
Not sure if it works like this in the US, but in the UK and much of Europe individual venues hold licences to play music (live or recorded) in public
Correct - so if one doesn't go to the publisher directly, they must go to a society for music publishers (such as ASCAP in the US or PRS in the UK) for a blanket license. After a license is paid for, the money trickles down to the publisher, which in this case is Sony, who says they have received no communication on this matter.
The event is being held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, and one would assume that they have a performance license, as concerts are played there regularly. But clearly the arena's license does not apply to political events (or at least, this particular one) as, and I quote the CBC, "Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer said in a tweet on Tuesday that the party had paid to license the use of the song in the arena."
Which means they were required to purchase a separate license, which they clearly didn't, as per Sony themselves tweeting about how the Republican party doesn't have a license to play Queen's music at this event.
Methinks I believe Sony over some meathead from the Republican party.
But they don't care. Last year, if Mike Huckabee didn't have a license to use Eye Of The Tiger and just had to pay Survivor $25,000 after the fact, then the Republican base just won't notice or care. This is why said meathead can get away with lying. Facts and ethics be damned.
It's sad to see the GOP, the party that abolished slavery, sink so low today.
Even if the campaign had purchased a license, there are other laws that protect artistic works from being connected with endorsement of products and opinions without the consent of the artists or publisher.
Really, political campaigns need to directly seek the permission of the aforementioned to be sure of being legally in the clear.