ABBA record label tells Trump campaign to cease playing songs at rallies – Washington Examiner
ABBA’s record label, Universal Music Publishing AB and Polar Music International AB, has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Donald Trump’s campaign, demanding that he stop using their songs during rallies and campaign events. This action comes after the label discovered that several of ABBA’s songs were played at Trump’s events without permission. The letter, which was notably non-political in tone, stated that no request had been made for licensing, and therefore, the use of ABBA’s music was unauthorized. Unlike other artists who have publicly criticized Trump’s campaign for using their music, ABBA’s label focused solely on the legal aspect of the music’s usage. The letter highlighted the necessity for permission, rather than expressing any political disagreement with Trump’s activities.
ABBA record label tells Trump campaign to cease playing songs at rallies
The record label of the Swedish pop group ABBA told former President Donald Trump’s campaign to stop playing its songs at rallies and campaign events.
On Thursday, ABBA’s record companies, Universal Music Publishing AB and Polar Music International AB, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump after learning that he had used several of the group’s songs at his rallies.
“We, together with the members of [ABBA], have discovered that videos have been released where Abba’s music has been used at Trump’s events and have requested that such use be immediately taken down and removed,” says the letter, according to Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet on Thursday.
“Universal Music Publishing AB and Polar Music International AB have not received any request, so no permission or license has been granted to Trump,” the companies continued in the letter.
The message was notably apolitical. It requested an end to the use of the group’s music due to a lack of permission without expressing explicit political disagreement, in contrast to the denunciations of other artists and groups.
Several of ABBA’s songs were featured at Trump’s events before he took the stage, and the music video was often included as well. At the July 13 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, the site of the assassination attempt on Trump, the music video for “Winner Takes it All” was played on the screen that the former president credits with saving his life.
“Money, Money, Money” and “Dancing Queen” are two other tunes the campaign has played at several rallies.
Trump has faced cries to cease using music from a litany of artists, including Céline Dion, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Johnny Marr, Adele, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, and the estate of Sinead O’Connor. Many of these include explicit statements of political disagreement with the former president.
“It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil,’” O’Connor’s estate said in its demand that Trump stop playing her music.
The Foo Fighters recently pledged to donate royalties from the song “My Hero” to the Harris campaign after it was used at Trump rallies without their permission.
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