Songs Used in Campaign Videos Spark Music Copyright Lawsuits

September 28, 2024

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As Donald Trump faces a wave of complaints from musicians, a judge has ruled against him in a case over his unauthorized use of Eddy Grant’s famed 1980s jam, “Electric Avenue.” The judgment comes more than four years after the initial complaint was filed in September 2020. In a Manhattan court, a federal judge ruled that Trump breached Grant’s copyright and is liable for damages and Grant’s legal fees.

The 40-second clip—an animation of Joe Biden traveling in a railroad car, while a Trump-Pence campaign train passes at high speed—was viewed almost 14 million times on Twitter before it was removed, according to Grant’s lawsuit.

The video was originally posted in August 2020 as the Republican president campaigned in his second, unsuccessful presidential election. Grant’s lawyers immediately sent a cease and desist letter, but the video was not removed until Grant filed a lawsuit.

Trump’s lawyers had argued the video was shielded under copyright statute’s fair use doctrine, which allows for the “transformative” reuse of protected works in certain situations. But in this ruling, Judge John G. Koeltl sharply rejected that argument.

“In this case, the video has a very low degree of transformativeness, if any at all,” the judge wrote. “The video is best described as a wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad.”

Trump has repeatedly faced blowback amid the 2024 election from artists who don’t want him to use their music. Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, ABBA, and Sinéad O’Connor’s estate have all spoken out or threatened action.

The success of Grant’s case may bode well for The White Stripes, who recently sued Trump for copyright infringement—and “flagrant misappropriation”—over the alleged nonpermitted use of “Seven Nation Army” in a campaign video, which was then deleted.

Jack and Meg White’s September 9 complaint, and part of an August lawsuit brought by the estate of soul legend Isaac Hayes, do not focus on the public performance right that campaigns obtain to play songs at events. Rather, they challenge the legally distinct right to synchronize a song into an audiovisual work, which requires a specific license.

The Hayes’ estate secured a preliminary injunction to force Trump’s campaign to stop using “Hold On (I’m Coming)” at his events. This came after the presidential candidate did not adhere to demands to take down all references to the song. The estate is now suing the former president and candidate for $3 million over an alleged 130 instances of Hayes’ song being used at campaign rallies without permission.

Beyoncé also reportedly sent a cease and desist order after Trump used her song “Freedom” in a video; in July, she gave Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris permission to use the song in her campaign. In August, the Trump campaign deleted the video.

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