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The Trump campaign said it had a license to play Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” at a Glendale, Arizona, rally on August 23, 2024. Foo Fighters said the campaign had not sought the band’s permission and that the band would not have agreed. The public statements did not establish whether the specific performance was covered by an applicable license.
What happened at the rally
“My Hero” played as Donald Trump welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Glendale rally. Kennedy had suspended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed Trump earlier that day. CBS News reported the band’s response to the song’s use.
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What Foo Fighters said
A band spokesperson told Variety: “Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were they would not have granted it.” The band’s official X account also replied “No” when asked whether it had let Trump use the song, according to CBS News.
The band’s representative said any royalties received from the song’s use would be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign, Variety reported.
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How the Trump campaign answered
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Hill, as reported by Variety: “We have a license to play the song.” The campaign also posted a social-media response referring to Foo Fighters songs. That was the campaign’s account of its licensing position; it did not, in the reporting available, establish the terms of a license or whether it covered this song’s use at this rally. Variety’s account covered both sides’ statements.
Why a performance license may not settle the dispute
Public performance licenses can allow campaign events to play works in a performing-rights organization’s repertoire. But a license claim does not by itself answer whether a particular work and use were covered, or whether objections by songwriters or publishers affected that coverage. The Independent’s report discussed a claimed BMI Songview license and the possibility that writers may decline political use. Variety also described the question of whether a venue’s blanket performance license covers campaign-rally use, citing BMI’s explanation in a separate dispute involving the Rolling Stones. This context does not prove the specific terms of any license claimed for “My Hero.”
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Was the song use unauthorized?
The band’s statement that it was not asked for permission and the campaign’s statement that it had a license describe different issues. An artist’s lack of approval does not, on its own, establish whether a performance license covered the event; conversely, a campaign’s assertion that it had a license does not establish that this particular use was authorized. The reporting cited here contains no final legal determination resolving the dispute.
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