Former President Donald Trump has drawn the ire of another musical group for unauthorized use of their music. This time, it’s the Foo Fighters.
Trump played the band’s song “My Hero” when he welcomed former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a rally in Arizona on Friday[…]
[…]The spokesperson added that any royalties received as a result of the Trump campaign’s use of the song will be donated to the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz.
You know there’s an entire specialized subset of the legal profession that deals specifically with copyright law, don’t you?
In this case, the problem isn’t the law. It’s the judicial system.
There is no subset specific to politicians using copyright music.
Generally the venue or organizer purchases a generic performance license allowing them to broadcast most copyright music. This exempts them from needing to ask each specific artist.
That’s why these artists are donating the licensing fees they’re getting, because they WERE paid something.
It’s just that artists can usually complain and terminate specific uses (after they know about them) for future performance.