Can Beyoncé, Celine Dion and Foo Fighters stop Trump from using their music? It’s complicated

(CNN) — The day after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris to become the Democratic presidential nominee, CNN reported that Beyoncé had given her sign-off for the Vice President to use “Freedom” as her official campaign song. So, it was a seemingly antagonistic choice when the Republican nominee’s campaign played the same Beyoncé song as the backdrop of a recent social media video to showcase former President Donald Trump.

From Celine Dion and Foo Fighters to Bruce Springsteen and Prince’s estate numerous artists over the years have objected to the use of their music by the Trump campaign. But depending on how and where their music is used, musicians may have grounds to take action beyond rebuking, according to legal experts.

In Beyoncé’s case, it wasn’t just a social media post. The Trump campaign has also used her music during at least one rally this summer, even though Beyoncé endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 and is a longtime Democratic supporter.

Her song “Texas Hold ‘Em” from the album “Cowboy Carter” was played at a Trump event on July 31 at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, according to a video of the rally viewed by CNN.

Beyoncé’s representatives did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment. But last week, Rolling Stone reported her label threatened to send a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign after they had used “Freedom” in the social media video, which was posted by Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung.

Shortly after Beyoncé’s team reportedly threatened legal action, the video was taken down.

In a statement to CNN, Cheung said he used “Freedom” to provoke the opposing party.

“The purpose of the post just proved the point that Democrats are all about banning things, including freedom. They fell for it hook, line, and sinker,” Cheung said.

Music licensing and approval

Licensing music and obtaining rights and clearances is an expensive, complicated and litigious business. Movie studios regularly pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain the rights to a single song, while brands can pay millions to repeat a tune in commercials to help sell a product.

Political campaigns are no exception.

“A license is required for any use of music whether in a venue, convention, online via YouTube or social media platform,” attorney Heidy Vaquerano, a Los Angeles-based partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild who specializes in music, told CNN.

Even if a license is obtained, artists may still be able to object to the use of their music by political campaigns.

Just days ago, Foo Fighters said they did not authorize the Trump campaign to use their song “My Hero,” which was played at a rally in Arizona where Trump was joined by Robert Kennedy Jr., shortly after he endorsed the former president. A representative for Foo Fighters told CNN the band was not asked permission by the Trump campaign, and said any royalties received “as a result of this use will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign.”

Trump’s spokesperson, Cheung, told CNN, “We have a license to play the song.”

But the band’s representative reiterated, “Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were they would not have granted it.”

There are some legal protections for artists around the use of their name, image or likeness. Even with a public performance license to play a song at a rally, the Trump campaign could be in violation of an artist’s publicity rights or a “false endorsement, where use of an artist’s work implies [an] artist supports the candidate,” Vaquerano said.

In order for a political campaign to use an artist’s song on social media, the campaign would have to reach out to songwriters, the publisher and the artist’s label for approval, she added.

When Trump ran in 2016 and 2020, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Neil Young, Pharrell, Rolling Stones, Adele, Guns N’ Roses and the estate of the Beatles all spoke out about Trump using their music. That pattern has continued this election cycle.

Earlier this month, Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” was played at a Trump rally in Bozeman, Montana, along with a video of the star singing on the big screen. After videos surfaced on social media, the singer’s team spoke out.

“In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use…And really, THAT song?” her team posted on X.

The estate of Isaac Hayes took things a step further, filing a copyright infringement suit against Trump for using the soul artist’s songs at rallies, also naming the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and the National Rifle Association among the defendants.

In the complaint, Hayes’ estate said Trump began using Hayes’ material as “outro” music at campaign events in 2020 and have continued to use his music in 2024, as seen in one of Trump’s recent posts on Truth Social in which Hayes’ song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” can be heard playing at a rally.

According to court documents obtained by CNN, attorneys for the estate claim that the campaign has not “obtained a valid public performance license,” and are asking for “compensatory damages for the unauthorized use” of Hayes’ music. Hayes’ estate was granted an emergency hearing on the matter in federal court on September 3.

“See you in court,” Hayes’ son posted on X.

Trump has not publicly commented on the matter.

Vaquerano believes that the Hayes estate has a viable case.

“If the campaign did not obtain the necessary licenses,” the attorney said, “then each use of the music constitutes a new infringing use and the respective copyright owners would be entitled to statutory damages and actual damages for loss of sales, licensing, revenue or other provable financial loss caused by the use of the music in the Trump campaign.”

Trump is known to be selective about music. Sources with first-hand knowledge told CNN that Trump chooses some of his rally songs himself. At his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, he’ll pick out the patio playlist on an iPad set up for guests at his dinners, according to these sources.

Back on the stump, Trump may be well-served to stick with music by artists who have endorsed him, like Kid Rock.

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Contributing: Kristen Holmes, CNN