On November 5, 2024, the USA will elect its president for the 60th time – and it looks like there will probably be another duel between incumbent President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump. Of course, appropriate music should not be neglected at election campaign events – but while the Democrats have many of the big rock acts (also outside the USA) at their side, Trump repeatedly encounters resistance from artists because of his use of well-known songs. Here are ten musicians or acts who have banned Trump from using their songs.
1 Bruce Springsteen
It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that “the boss” is definitely not a supporter of Donald Trump. When Trump played Springsteen’s mega-hit “Born In The USA,” which was often misunderstood as hurray patriotism, at his campaign rallies in 2016, Springsteen responded without making any legal threats, but he unequivocally declared his support for Hillary Clinton. This caused little enthusiasm among Trump supporters.
2 PhilCollins
When Trump’s team played the Phil Collins classic “In The Air Tonight” at an event in 2020, Collins felt compelled to take countermeasures. Collins’ legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter. “Mr. Collins has serious concerns that the manner in which the Trump campaign used ‘In the Air Tonight’ has damaged and will continue to damage Mr. Collins’ reputation and popularity with the public.” said a statement from his team.
3 Nickelback
Nickelback went one step further. Chad Kroeger’s band didn’t like the fact that Trump used their song “Photograph” for a campaign video. Trump had to give in after Warner Music Group had to take the video down due to a copyright claim.
4 Neil Young
In addition to “Born In The USA”, “Rockin’ In The Free World” is also a song that is ideal for election campaign events. Neil Young had repeatedly spoken out against the use of his songs at Republican campaign events, but Trump did not follow this request. The Canadian rocker responded with an open letter to Trump. “Every time ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ or one of my songs is played at your rallies, I hope you hear my voice. Remember, it is the voice of a taxpaying US citizen who does not support you,” wrote the musician, never at a loss for his opinion.
5 Adele
Adele also objected to the use of her tracks when Trump played her hits “Rolling In The Deep” and “Skyfall” at campaign events in 2016. “Adele has not given permission for her music to be used in political campaigns,” her spokesperson said.
6 Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr expressed surprise when Trump’s team played The Smiths song “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” at a campaign rally in 2024. “I never thought in a million years that it could come to this. “Consider this shit stopped immediately,” he then wrote.
7 Prince
The estate administrators of the musical genius Prince, who died in 2016, also sent Trump’s team a cease-and-desist letter. Trump agreed to forego Prince songs in the future, but broke that promise. Whereupon Prince
8th Elton John
The British music legend was anything but pleased when Trump used songs like “Rocket Man” (which also received “special honors” thanks to Trump’s “communication” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un) and “Tiny Dancer” during his election campaign in 2016. According to John’s argument, a British musician has no place in the US election campaign anyway.
9 Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones did in 2016 what many rock bands whose music was used by Trump in the election campaign did: They sent a cease-and-desist letter asking Trump not to play songs like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” to play more at his campaign rallies.
10 Rihanna
Rihanna has made her antipathy toward Trump abundantly clear over the years. She once called him the “most mentally ill man in America” to Vogue and banned him from using her songs. Trump retaliated with a less than charming analysis of her performance at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show: “EPIC FAIL: Rihanna delivered, without question, the worst halftime show in the history of the Super Bowl,” the ex-president said at the time .