Former President Donald Trump has frequently used songs from bands that neither like him nor have granted permission for him to use their music. The rock band Foo Fighters is the latest band to speak out about Trump’s use of songs.
What Happened: Trump welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a surprise guest at a rally in Arizona on Friday. The rally came shortly after Kennedy Jr. announced he was suspending his 2024 election campaign and endorsing Trump.
The hit Foo Fighters 1998 song “My Hero” was played as Kennedy Jr. was welcomed to the rally. The band said they did not give permission for the song.
“Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” a band representative told Entertainment Weekly.
The band is donating any royalties they receive for Trump’s use of the song to the Kamala Harris campaign, in a counter move to Trump’s 2024 election campaign.
The X social media account for the band shared that they did not grant permission to Trump for use of the song.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who was the drummer in Nirvana, has previously shared his less than positive thoughts on Trump.
“The thing about Trump that stings the most is this: He just seems like a massive jerk,” Grohl said in a 2018 GQ story.
The Foo Fighters were a performer at President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration. The band also previously criticized Republican presidential nominee John McCain using the same song in his 2008 election campaign.
“The saddest thing about this is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song,” the band said at the time of McCain’s use.
“My Hero” was included on the 1997 album “The Colour and the Shape,” which was released with Capitol Records, a unit of Warner Music Group WMG. The band later made the switch to RCA Records after that album. RCA Records is a unit of Sony Group Corp SONY.
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Why It’s Important: Trump has been accused of using songs without permission multiple times during the 2024 election campaign.
The use of Beyonce’s “Freedom” and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” are among the songs used by Trump or his team without permission prompting callouts from the artists. Beyonce’s team threatened Trump with a cease-and-desist letter.
Harris has permission to use “Freedom” on her campaign and has been using the song. Harris’ running mate Tim Walz also received permission to use “Rockin’ in the Free World” at the Democratic National Convention, which came after Trump was sued by musician Neil Young for previously using it.
Dion and her Sony Music Entertainment Canada record label spoke out on the unauthorized use of her song at a Trump rally in Montana.
“Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” the singer said.
The singer and Sony have not sued Trump over the song use yet. Dion questioned the use of the theme song from the 1997 film “Titanic” as the movie is about tragic events of the famous ship once thought to be unsinkable hitting and 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.
The family of musician Isaac Hayes is demanding $3 million from Trump for the unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign events. The family said the song had 134 copyright infringements from 2022 to 2024 and demanded damages and that the song not be used at future events.
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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