Usher, Cyndi Lauper, Josh Groban, More Tell Candidates to Stop Using Their Songs on “Last Week Tonight”: Watch
Since the campaign for president began in earnest last year, candidates have used countless songs for their rallies and events. Unsurprisingly, many artists have opposed their music’s use in a political context (or by a candidate they do not support). Neil Young, for instance, was not OK with Donald Trump using “Rockin’ in the Free World” in June 2015, resulting, one year later, in Young telling Trump, “fuck you.”
Most recently, Queen’s Brian May wrote in June that the band opposed Trump’s public use of “We Are the Champions.” “This is not an official Queen statement,” he wrote, “but I can confirm that permission to use the track was neither sought nor given” to use the song. When Trump ignored May’s plea and walked out to the track at the Republican National Convention last week, Queen’s official Twitter posted, “An unauthorised use at the Republican Convention against our wishes.” Then, following his headlining speech at the RNC, Trump played the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Like Queen, the Stones opposed Trump’s use, tweeting, “The Rolling Stones do not endorse Donald Trump. You Can’t Always Get What You Want was used without the band’s permission.” (The tweet has since been deleted.)
On last night’s episode of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” several artists joined together to perform a new song, urging candidates to stop using their music without first seeking permission, as Rolling Stone points out. Usher, Cyndi Lauper, Josh Groban, Dan Reynolds (of Imagine Dragons), Sheryl Crow, Heart, Michael Bolton, and John Mellencamp were on hand to sing about the perils of having their songs used improperly. Groban, at one point, belts out, “If I wanted to sing and not get paid, I’d be on Spotify!” They also offer candidates a free song to use, which is just a cat walking and, subsequently, napping on a piano. Watch the segment below.
Read our explainer “Here’s How Candidates Can Use Songs in Their Campaigns, Even If Songwriters Don’t Like It” on the Pitch.
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