I’ve worked in the music business and the advertising industry most of my life. Music licensing is sort of my speciality and I’ve been involved with it in some way, shape or form for the past two decades. So it always baffles me we when someone thinks they can use a song for “free” or without getting permission. John McCain has now done this THREE times during his campaign.
Back in February, John Cougar Mellencamp asked McCain to stop using “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” at his rallies. Four days after the request, he stopped using them. Lesson learned, right? WRONG.
Earlier this month, Jackson Browne – who we in the ad business know as one of the untouchables that WILL NOT license his music for advertising – filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Republican Party, the GOP and McCain himself for using is classic song “Running on Empty” in a commercial. The lawsuit claims copyright infringement as well damages for creating the false impression that he in any way endorsed John McCain.
The Tool MUST have figured it out by now, right?
Nope.
Yesterday he strutted out on stage in Ohio with Van Halen‘s “Right Now” blaring out over the loudspeakers. And guess who didn’t approved the use and is pissed about it? That’s right, our friends in Van Halen.
WTF? It’s like his camp is just picking songs from a vending machine and not even thinking twice about any rights that may be associated with the use of it. There’s not just the band, but the record label, the publisher, performing rights, singer rights, musician rights, union rights, implied endorsement issues…. the list goes on and on. How he/they can have no respect for the intellectual property rights of these songs is shocking. And frankly, as a musician, would you want this guy in the White House having anything to do with copyright issues right now with all the controversy of illegal downloads? He clearly doesn’t give a shit. Tool.
***Update***
Officially now a super tool – The Foo Fighters blasted McCain for using their song “My Hero” at rallies without, you guessed it, seeking any sort of permission. I didn’t think I could hate him any more, but I was wrong.
i copied this and sent it to about 12 people down here in NC. first to show how cool elements of my job used to be, second to show what cool, smart people i used to work with, and third… of course… to continue my quest to perpetuate the idea that mccain is, as you point out, a tool.
hope all is well in Arn land and Salem!! i am a marketing director for duke and am 1 week in… so far, so slow.
hugs to CP and KS for me!!
The trademark infringement issues (implied endorsement) strike me as more worrisome for McCain than the copyright issues (violation of distribution and broadcast rights).
See: McCain Doesn’t Rock.
It is stunning to think that the McCain–Palin campaign would continue to stoop to music piracy, particularly after the repeated embarrassments. Then again, this is the same campaign that comes up with each new theme and slogan by simply stealing them from its adversary. Senator Obama seems to trust the voting public to be able to discern the dishonesty of Senator McCain’s mimicry. The recording artists are putting their faith in the courts.
Ha ha, copyright infringement, how I don’t care about you any more…
But McCain’s a total bag o’ douche.