A few years ago George W. Bush tried to use the song "I Won't Back Down" written and performed by Tom Petty (pictured). Petty objected and demanded that the Bush campaign stop using his song. Bush backed down, apologized, and stopped using the song.
Now another Republican is doing the same thing -- and amazingly they are appropriating the intellectual property of the same singer/songwriter, Tom Petty. After announcing that she was officially a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination the other day, Michele Bachmann's campaign played the song "American Girl" over the campaign loudspeakers. Petty was not amused.
NBC News has confirmed that Petty has asked his attorney to send Bachmann a "cease and desist" letter telling her to stop using his music. She'd better listen because Petty has the money to take her to court and defend his property, and she's just be wasting a lot of campaign money to defend a losing cause.
Republicans, including Bachmann would do well to stick to the music of singers supporting Republican policies. Of course that might restrict them to some Nashville artists and old Pat Boone records, but it would save them a lot of embarrassment and money.
or something by ted neugent.
ReplyDeleteElection cycle after election cycle, Republican Presidential candidates seem to always want to use songs by Petty, Springsteen, or Mellencamp.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for them, all of those artists are fairly mainstream Democrats, and they generally tell the candidates to stop using their stuff.
There have got to be plenty of country artists who would let Republicans use their music - what about that "We'll put our foot up your ass" guy? Gene Simmons of KISS and 50 Cent are supposedly Reoublicans, although, as with Ted Nugent, what song of theirs could be used is open to question.