Representatives of a number of artists have voiced their objection to Trump’s unauthorized use of their music at his campaign events.
Swedish pop band ABBA has asked US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign to stop playing its songs at his campaign events, saying it had not given permission for them to be used.
The band’s record label issued a statement Thursday after several of their biggest hits, including “Dancing Queen,” “Money, Money, Money” and “The Winner Takes It All,” were played at a Trump rally in Minnesota last month.
“In collaboration with ABBA members, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be removed immediately,” Universal Music said in a press release.
This isn’t the first time major artists have objected to their work being used at Trump political events without permission. Earlier this month, the family of soul and funk artist Isaac Hayes threatened Trump with legal action over the unauthorized use of the musician’s songs.
In July, a journalist with the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that The Winner Takes It All was played at a Trump campaign event in Minnesota, with a 10-minute video of ABBA performing some of their biggest hits shown on a big screen afterwards.
In March, the Sinead O’Connor estate also asked Trump to stop using the Irish singer’s rebellious song “Nothing Compares 2 U” at campaign events.
“It is no exaggeration to say that Sinead would be disgusted, hurt and offended if her work was misrepresented in this way by someone she herself has described as a ‘biblical devil.’ As custodians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates cease using her music immediately,” according to a joint statement from O’Connor’s estate and the record label at the time.
Over the years, famous singers such as Tom Petty, Adele, REM, and Celine Dion have made similar complaints.
Earlier this month, Trump also shared fake AI images of Taylor Swift supporting him on social media.
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