Lots of artists have drawn the line when it comes to Donald Trump. Since the former president began campaigning ahead of the 2016 election, some musicians have not been happy to hear that the Trump team has played their music, often without authorization. From Canadian singer Céline Dion to the family of soul icon Isaac Hayes, they’ve done everything from issuing public statements to sending cease-and-desist letters to Trump through lawyers.
While most complaints have focused on music played at Trump rallies, Beyoncé and her team issued a cease-and-desist letter after a Trump campaign spokesperson used her song “Freedom” in a short video shared online. T
Céline was not happy when Donald Trump used her Titanic classic “My Heart Will Go On” at a recent campaign rally. “And really, THAT song?” she wrote on social media when she learned he’d been playing the hit. The Canadian star’s team issued a statement on Aug. 10 slamming the former president for “unauthorized usage” of the track from the Nineties film. “Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” the statement from Dion’s team said.
Isaac Hayes’ Family (2024)
ATLANTA - MARCH 16: Soul Singer Isaac Hayes is photographed at a photo studio on March 16, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia.
TOM HILL/WIREIMAGE
The family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes wants to stop Trump from playing the hit “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at rallies and events, including at an NRA convention. Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, shared that they planned to file a lawsuit after learning that the Trump team has used the song about 135 times without licensing the song or asking for permission. “I was pissed,” Hayes told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s just been a mass shooting. So why are we using it at the NRA convention? I wanted to take legal action because Trump has made statements against women, and here is a man who has been convicted of sexual abuse. I’m a brother to seven sisters, and I don’t want anybody to think of ‘Hold On’ and think of Donald Trump.” —J.L.
Sinéad O’Connor’s Estate (2024)
IRELAND - 3rd FEBRUARY: Irish singer and songwriter Sinead O'Connor posed at her home in County Wicklow, Republic Of Ireland on 3rd February 2012. (Photo by David Corio/Redferns)
Sinead O’Connor’s estate quickly shut Trump down when he started using the late singer’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U” at his rallies in Maryland and North Carolina. “It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil,’” O’Connor’s estate representatives shared in a statement to Variety. “As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.” —J.L.
Johnny Marr (2024)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Johnny Marr performs during A Night With The Johnny Marr Orchestra at Factory International on December 07, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew McNulty/Redferns)
MATTHEW MCNULTY/REDFERNS
While the Smiths might seem wildly out of place at a Trump rally, the camp certainly tried it. In early 2024, multiple political reporters took to Twitter to share how the hopelessly desperate “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” was making its rounds with MAGA folks. Founding guitarist and the song’s writer, Johnny Marr, immediately responded when he quote-tweeted a video saying, “Ahh … right … OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now.” —M.G.
Village People (2023)
SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN - JULY 21: Lead singer Victor Willis of Village People performs onstage during 58th Donostiako Jazzaldia Jazz Festival on July 21, 2023 in San Sebastian, Spain.
GARI GARAIALDE
Trump’s love of the Village People is well-documented. For years, he played “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” at his rallies with little pushback from founding member Victor Willis. Willis finally changed his tune in June 2020 amid the uprising against racial injustice. Then, in May 2023, he sent Trump’s legal team a cease-and-desist letter after video emerged of the former president at Mar-a-Lago dancing along to “Macho Man” with a group dressed up like the Village People. Willis called the performance “unauthorized” and noted that “many fans, and the general public as well, mistakenly believe” the actual Village People delivered the performance. —J.B.
Neil Young (2020)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Neil Young performs as part of a historic double bill with Bob Dylan at Hyde Park on July 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images )
Neil Young’s spat with Trump dates back all the way to 2015, when Trump played “Rockin’ in the Free World” immediately after announcing his plan to run for president. Young, unsurprisingly, was not happy and repeatedly expressed his discontent when the song played at Trump rallies over the coming years. Eventually, in 2020, Young tried suing Trump, claiming he did not have a proper license to play his music at his rallies. But a few months later, the musician ultimately chose to voluntarily dismiss the complaint. —J.B.
The Rolling Stones (2020)
RIDGEDALE, MISSOURI - JULY 21: (L - R) Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones perform during the final night of the Hackney Diamonds '24 Tour at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena on July 21, 2024 in Ridgedale, Missouri. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)
The Rolling Stones made a pun out of one of their own song titles in 2020 when they told the Trump campaign to stop using their songs: “This could be the last time Trump uses any Jagger-Richards songs on his campaigns,” the band’s rep said at the time. Trump had been using “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at rallies. Apparently, he wanted threats of legal action. —K.G.
John Fogerty (2020)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 10: John Fogerty performs at the Tim Irsay Collection & Concert at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on December 10, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
Tom Petty’s Estate (2020)
DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 17: Tom Petty performs in concert on the third day of KAABOO Del Mar on September 17, 2017 in Del Mar, California.
The Florida rocker had a history of sending cease-and-desist letters to politicians using his music, including George W. Bush in 2000 (“I Won’t Back Down”) and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann in 2011 (“American Girl”). Three years after his death, his family spoke out about a certain Florida Man’s use of “I Won’t Back Down,” writing that Trump “was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind.” His family continued, “Tom wrote this song for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE.… We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideals of either.” Amen to that. —A.M.
Phil Collins (2020)
British singer Phil Collins performs on stage during his "Still Not Dead Yet-tour" at Goffertpark, in Nijmegen, on June 20, 2019. - It is the first time in 14 years that Collins performs on a Dutch stage. (Photo by Paul Bergen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
MAGA energy was not in the air when Phil Collins made “In the Air Tonight.” The musician issued a cease-and-desist to Trump for usage of his 1981 single during the 2020 election. In the letter sent to Trump, Collins slammed the candidate for using the song “as a satirical reference to Covid-19” when Iowa was going through a spike in cases. “Mr. Collins does not condone the apparent trivialization of Covid-19,” the letter stated, adding that the musician had “serious concerns” that Trump’s usage would “damage” Collins’ reputation. —T.M.
Steven Tyler (2018)
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 10: Steven Tyler performs onstage at Celebrity Fight Night XXIV on March 10, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night)
Donald Trump was living on the edge of a lawsuit in 2018 when Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler felt it was necessary to send a cease-and-desist letter to the then-president’s campaign for using the song “Livin’ on the Edge.” This came three years after the band already told Trump to knock it off with playing “Dream On” at rallies. —K.G.
Rihanna (2018)
Just after Trump played Rihanna’s 2007 hit “Don’t Stop the Music” at a rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee, her team sent him a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action. “It has come to our attention that President Trump has utilized [Rihanna‘s] musical compositions and master recordings, including her hit track ‘Don’t Stop the Music,’ in connection with a number of political events held across the United States,” Rihanna’s legal team wrote in the letter. “As you are or should be aware, Ms. Fenty has not provided her consent to Mr. Trump to use her music. Such use is therefore improper.” —J.L.
R.E.M. (2015)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Michael Stipe and Mike Mills attend the 25th anniversary of REM's album 'Out Of Time' album at Borderline on November 18, 2016 in London, England.
Maybe if R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” didn’t come with the parenthetical “(And I Feel Fine),” they wouldn’t have complained about Trump using the song on the campaign trail in 2015. Regardless, all was not fine and Michael Stipe issued a stern rebuke to the Trump campaign for using the song: “Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.” —K.G.
