Political rallies often include the use of songs to pump up crowds or highlight something about a candidate. Songs used by Donald Trump continue to cause him trouble, while Kamala Harris has turned to using Beyoncé songs.
What Happened: Global superstar Beyoncé recently authorized the use of her song “Freedom” by Harris for the 2024 election.
The singer also approved of all her songs to be used by Harris, with the potential for a major endorsement and donation, according to a report.
Contrast that with Trump who is using songs at rallies without the permission of the artist or record label.
“Today, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana,” Celine Dion tweeted.
The singer said the use of the song was not authorized.
“Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use.”
Sony Music Entertainment Canada, which is a unit of Sony Group Corp SONY, has not sued the former president over the song use yet.
Dion’s tweet also questioned the use of the theme song for the 1997 blockbuster movie “Titanic.”
“And really, THAT song?”
“Titanic” is the movie about the tragic events of the ship once thought to be unsinkable hitting an iceberg and meeting its fate in the Atlantic Ocean.
While some may categorize the theme song as a love song, the song’s lyrics point more to carrying on without a loved one, which doesn’t speak to an inspirational song to play at a rally of a president trying to win back the White House.
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Why It’s Important: While Dion and Sony have spoken about the unauthorized use of the song, the family of musician Isaac Hayes has taken their own situation a step forward.
The family is demanding $3 million from Trump due to the unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign events.
As reported by Variety, the family of Hayes said the song has been used from 2022 to 2024 with 134 alleged copyright infringements. Along with the damages, the family of the singer asked Trump to cease playing the song.
The family also asked for any videos using the song to be taken down and Trump to make a statement that the family did not authorize use of the song.
If Trump’s campaign does not meet the demands, the family said they will “take all legal action required to enforce the infringed upon intellectual property rights, including but not limited to sending third party takedown requests and/or federal litigation.”
“Donald Trump epitomizes a lack of integrity and class, not only through his continuous use of my father’s musician without permission but also through his history of sexual abuse against women and his racist rhetoric,” Hayes’s son Isaac Hayes III wrote. “The behavior will no longer be tolerated, and we will take swift action to put an end to it.”
The use of songs at political events has become a hot topic in recent years. The band Journey previously had an internal argument about the use of “Don’t Stop Believin” by Trump. Multiple artists including The Village People, John Fogerty, Linkin Park, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and R.E.M. have threatened Trump with legal action or disapproved of him using their music at past campaign events.
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Photo: Celine Dion by Anirudh Koul via Flickr Creative Commons; Trump, Shutterstock
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