Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young is not very happy Donald Trump used his song, “Rockin’ in the Free World” without permission during his presidential campaign launch.
In the hour leading up to Donald Trump appearing on stage to announce he is running for president – which amounted to a 41-minute infomercial about his ego – many songs were played, possibly all of them without obtaining legal permission, as required by law.
Yes, if you play music in a public space, you have to get permission from the copyright holder, hence the creation of Muzak decades ago.
One of the songs played was the theme from the broadway musical “Cats,” believe it or not. Another was Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
The iconic 69-year old Canadian singer-songwriter was especially displeased, and let Trump know in no uncertain terms.
“Donald Trump’s use of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ was not authorized,” Young’s longtime manager Elliot Roberts told Mother Jones. “Mr. Young is a longtime supporter of Bernie Sanders.”
Yes, that’s right, Neil Young is a Bernie Sanders supporter.
Raw Story’s Arturo Garcia notes another reason the song was a poor choice:
The 1989 single mocked a favorite saying of George H.W. Bush following Bush’s election a year earlier, as Young remarked, “We got a thousand points of light, for the homeless man. We got a kinder, gentler, machine gun hand.â€
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Image by kris krüg via Flickr and a CC license