I Won’t Be Your 'Beast of Burden,' Stones Say to Donald Trump
The group said it never gave permission to Trump to use their songs.
— -- The Rolling Stones have joined a growing number of musicians that do not want Donald Trump to play their music at his campaign events.
A rep for the English rock band released a statement on Wednesday stating, "The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately."
In an interview with CNBC today, Trump said his campaign secured the rights to use the Stones' songs.
“I like Mick Jagger. I like their songs. But you know what, we use so many songs. And you know, we have the rights to use them. I always buy the rights,” he said.
This is not the first time musicians have asked the real estate mogul-turned-Republican presumptive nominee to stop using their music.
Adele, Aerosmith, Neil Young, and R.E.M. have all reportedly spoken out against the Trump campaign's use of their music at rallies.
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) released a guide regarding the use of music in political campaigns. The guide states that politicians can use music at campaign events if they have acquired a "public performance" license.
"As a general rule, a campaign should be aware that, in most cases, the more closely a song is tied to the 'image' or message of the campaign, the more likely it is that the recording artist or songwriter of the song could object to the song's usage in the campaign," according to ASCAP.
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler has been especially vocal about Trump's use of his music, writing a letter to the Trump campaign and publishing an article on the Huffington Post on the use of copyrighted music by politicians.
Trump responded to Steven Tyler on Twitter, stating he would not use his song because he had a "better one."
It is unfortunate because in 2014, Trump tweeted at Tyler that it "doesn't get any better than that" at an Aerosmith concert.
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