When Tim Walz formally accepted the Democratic Party nomination for Vice President on Wednesday, he took the stage to a song that, if the ex-president was watching, might have needled Donald Trump considerably: Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
The song is one of the Minnesota governor’s personal favorites, and he reached out to the rock icon to ask permission to use it ahead of his speech at the DNC. And yes, Young personally granted the request, CNN reported Wednesday night.
But “Rockin’ in the Free World” is also — surprise — one of the many popular songs Donald Trump has used over the years without permission from, and usually over the express objections of, the artists who created them.
Trump started using the track after announcing his first presidential run in 2015, something Young strenuously objected to at the time. 4 years later, Trump used it at two different campaign events — including a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20 that Herman Cain attended before his death from COVID-19 just over a week later.
Young sued Trump for copyright infringement in a complaint that said in part, “This complaint is not intended to disrespect the rights and opinions of American citizens, who are free to support the candidate of their choosing. However, Plaintiff in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.”
Young dropped the lawsuit in December, 2020, four months after filing it. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it could not be re-filed; it’s not known why he dropped it, or if any kind of settlement was reached.
Campaigns commonly purchase “blanket” licenses from rightsholders to legally use large libraries of music for live events, and no one has suggested that either party has failed to do so. If an artist objects, their recourse usually amounts to a public pressure campaign, though they can ask the rightsholder to pull individual songs from the catalog, making future use a copyright infringement.
In any event, Neil Young is just one of too-many-to-count artists who have allowed Democratic politicians to use their songs. Most notably, Beyonce has given Kamala Harris permission to use “Freedom” for her campaign — a song Trump has also tried to use without permission.
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