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Pop-Rock Singer Throws a Fit After His Song Was Played During Phoenix Trump Rally

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As the presidential election nears, celebrities across the nation have been voicing their disapproval for President Trump more than normal.

Last week, rock-and-roll legend Bruce Springsteen criticized Trump on his SiriusXM show, and most recently, pop-rock band Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie voiced his opinions on the president.

Following Trump’s rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday evening, Urie discovered that the band’s hit song “High Hopes” was played during the event.

Urie published a strongly-worded tweet aimed at Trump and his campaign that same night.

“Dear Trump Campaign, F— you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song. No thanks, Brendon Urie, Panic! At The Disco & company,” he tweeted.

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Warning: the following tweet contains strong language that some readers may find offensive.

In a second tweet, Urie addressed “Everyone Else,” urging them to “vote this monster out” and added a link to help people get registered to vote.

“Dear Everyone Else, Donald Trump represents nothing we stand for. The highest hope we have is voting this monster out in November.”

Urie is one of many celebrities who have requested that Trump stop playing their music during his rallies.

In 2016, artists including Adele, The Rolling Stones, Queen and many others released statements regarding Trump and the Republican National Convention using their music.

“The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately,” the band’s publicist Fran Curtis said in a statement to CNN.

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Around the same time, Queen released a statement of the same sentiment.

“Sony/ATV Music Publishing has never been asked by Mr. Trump, the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization for permission to use ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen,” the band’s publisher said in a 2016 statement.

“On behalf of the band, we are frustrated by the repeated unauthorized use of the song after a previous request to desist, which has obviously been ignored by Mr. Trump and his campaign.”

According to intellectual property lawyer Danwill Schwender, political campaigns and rallies are able to play music without getting permission directly from the artists if they legally obtain the rights through collective rights organizations, which are more commonly known as performance rights organizations.

Do you think Urie should be bothered by Trump using his song if it was obtained legally?

As Schwender noted, in the past, the Trump campaign has combated complaints from artists like Niel Young.

When Young’s management team claimed “Donald Trump was not authorized to use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in his presidential candidacy announcement,” Trump’s campaign was quick to respond.

They informed Young’s managers that the campaign “had done everything legal and by the book.”

When Queen made similar complaints in 2016, performing rights organization Broadcast Music Inc. “enforced the opt-out clause and removed Queen’s songs from the license.”

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Morgan Brantley is a former staff writer for The Western Journal. She graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in journalism. She and her dog, Indy, moved to the Phoenix area from Nashville.
Morgan Brantley is a former staff writer for The Western Journal. She graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in journalism. She and her dog, Indy, moved to the Phoenix area from Nashville.




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