Legendary rock band Queen not pleased with the GOP presidential candidate's use of its classic rock 'n' roll anthem at the Republican Convention.
 |
| Donald Trump, center of convention attention. |
CLEVELAND, OH — Donald Trump's unconventional first-night appearance at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, coupled with the showmanship of an unconventional intro, thrust the Trump campaign into a dispute with rock 'n' roll legends.
The rock star intro for the Republican presidential candidate preceded a rather conventional speech by his lovely wife Melania Trump, which included a passage unconventionally similar to First Lady Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic convention speech. But the appropriation of those words appears to be a minor kerfuffle compared to Donald Trump's repeated, unauthorized use of Queen's intellectual property — the 1977 song "We Are the Champions" — to promote his candidacy.
Sony/ATV made clear on Tuesday that Trump was asked to cease and desist using that song. Not only did Trump continue to use the song, he used the classic tune as the soundtrack to bring the lights up on his first appearance at the Republican Convention.
The song is regarded as one of the top five rock anthems of all time by music critics.
"No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions" ... the lyrics stir the soul and raise the goosebumps, for sure. The Republican delegates, many still not convinced Trump should be their man, loved the moment.
Tuesday morning, however, Queen had no love and tweeted this:
An unauthorised use at the Republican Convention against our wishes - Queen
— Queen (@QueenWillRock) July 19, 2016
Later Tuesday, the band's publishing company issued a more withering statement accusing Trump of ignoring the label's demand that he stop playing the song at his rallies.
Queen’s publishing company released a statement Tuesday:
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. 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.
Queen does not want its music associated with any mainstream or political debate in any country. Nor does Queen want ‘We are the Champions’ to be used as an endorsement of Mr. Trump and the political views of the Republican Party. We trust, hope and expect that Mr. Trump and his campaign will respect these wishes moving forward.”
Trump, who's more of a brand magnate than a real-estate developer at this point in his life, knows a thing or two about protecting your intellectual property through copyright and trademark. Trump has filed 200 trademark applications for ideas based on his own name, according to Mother Jones magazine.
Trump Style, the Trumptini, and Trump D'Elegance are just a few.
Ironically, this matter came to a head in Cleveland, the birthplace of rock 'n' roll and home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, into which Queen was enshrined in 2001.
There's even a current exhibit at the rock hall about rock music and politics, called "Louder Than Words: Rock, Power & Politics." The museum describes the exhibit as an exploration of "the power of rock to change attitudes about patriotism, peace, equality and freedom." One of the iconic pieces of memorabilia in the exhibit is Jimi Hendrix's Stratocaster, the one he played "The Star Spangled Banner" on at Woodstock.
Clearly, "We Are the Champions" is a powerful song and in the context of a political campaign can imbue followers with an intense spirit.
Last month, Queen guitarist Brian May took issue with Trump's use of the song at rallies after someone brought this to his attention.
"We are taking advice on what steps we can take to ensure this use does not continue," May wrote on his website. "Regardless of our views on Mr Trump’s platform, it has always been against our policy to allow Queen music to be used as a political campaigning tool."
Trump has an eclectic play list for his appearances. For a while, he used Dee Snider's "We're Not Gonna Take It," performed by Snider's bad Twisted Sister, to close out rallies.
Snider, who had given permission for the song's use, asked Trump to stop.
"When Donald started running for office, he asked me, he called me. He says, 'Can I use the song?' And he's a buddy. And I said, 'Yeah. Go ahead.' But as the months went on, I heard a litany of his beliefs that I'd never discussed with him," Snider told CNN earlier this year. "I finally called him and I said, 'Man, you've gotta stop using the song. People think I'm endorsing you here. I can't get behind a lot of what you're saying.' ...
"He has not used it since. He said, 'Dee, fair enough.' He's a friend. As a friend, he called me. As a friend, I called him, and he stopped using it. I still like him, but, man, I did not know some of the things that he believe in and stood for."
Brian May is not a Trump friend, and he's received no such phone call about "We Are the Champions."