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George Harrison Estate Blasts Use Of Song At RNC, Just The Latest In Slew Of Ticked Off Artists [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 10:56 PST, Jul 22, 2016

The George Harrison estate is fuming that Donald Trump used the Beatles hit “Here Comes The Sun” at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The fury coming from the George Harrison estate is just the latest in a slew of musical artists’ complaints against Donald Trump and the Trump campaign regarding unauthorized use of songs. According to the Harrison estate, no approval was given for the use of the iconic track, a song that Harrison wrote and which was released in 1969.

As USA Today reports, the estate of George Harrison took to Twitter to complain about the use of the song, which was played as Trump’s daughter Ivanka took the stage to introduce her ex-reality TV star dad at the RNC.

Unfortunately for Donald Trump and his campaign, the complaints from the Harrison estate are far from the only or even the first that have come rolling in as a result of the Republican convention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FYFjlC98Tk

On the opening night of the Republican National Convention, far before Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination, and well before he angered the estate of George Harrison, the real estate billionaire and political hopeful found himself in hot water for playing Queen’s masterpiece “We are the Champions” as he took the stage. In that instance, the ripped-off band in question said in June that it would “never” give Trump permission to use its intellectual property. Following Trump’s allegedly unauthorized use of “We are the Champions,” Queen blasted him and his campaign all over the internet, reports the Guardian.

Like the estate of George Harrison, the band took to Twitter to tell the world that it hadn’t given Trump permission to use the popular tune as he walked on stage at the RNC.

“An unauthorized use at the Republican Convention against our wishes.”

According to reports, Queen “publicly pleaded” with Trump not to use their songs at the RNC or at any of his events. Surviving member of Queen Brian May used his own personal website to explain the situation to Trump and the world. May stated that the band doesn’t allow any politician to use its music for self-promotion.

“Our music embodies our own dreams and beliefs, but it is for all who care to listen and enjoy.”

Neither Donald Trump nor his campaign has responded to the media directly regarding the complaints from George Harrison’s estate over the allegedly unauthorized use of “Here Comes the Sun,” reports CNN Money. However, according to RNC spokesman Sean Springer, the Republican National Convention (not Trump) paid the necessary fees for the legal use of the Harrison song at the event.

Multiple bands and artists in addition to Queen and the George Harrison estate have complained to and about Donald Trump and his use of their music at his campaign events. Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, and R.E.M. have also publicly denounced the Trump campaign’s use of their songs.

Despite the complaints, “You Can’t Always Get What you Want” (a Rolling Stones classic) was also played at the RNC on Thursday. That particular song has been played repeatedly on the Trump campaign trail, despite requests from the band that Trump not use their music.

While the estate of George Harrison took to social media to call out Trump for his allegedly unauthorized use of Harrison’s work, they also made it a bit of a laughing matter.

The truth of the situation is that musical artists have the right to control who uses their intellectual property. In the case of political campaigns, license to use specific songs must be paid for. If it’s not, if songs are used without consent or without purchasing license to do so (as the estate of George Harrison alleges contends was done in the case of “Here Comes the Sun”), artists can sue politicians and campaigns for copyright infringement.

Industry professionals and attorneys say that in many modern cases, however, artists (or artist’s estates) choose to take their grievances to social media rather than court. Litigation is expensive and time-consuming, and there’s never a guarantee as to the outcome.

There has been no word regarding whether or not the estate of George Harrison will be suing Trump for what they call “unauthorized use” of the Harrison classic.

[Image via chrisdorney/Shutterstock]

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