ABBA asks Donald Trump not to play their music while campaigning

Swedish supergroup ABBA has asked Donald Trump to stop using their music at campaign rallies, but the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign says it has permission.

“ABBA has recently discovered the unauthorised use of their music and videos at a Trump event through videos that appeared online,” said a statement to The Associated Press from the band, whose hits include “Waterloo,” “The Winner Takes It All” and “Money, Money, Money.”

“As a result, ABBA and its representatives have promptly requested the removal and deletion of such content. No request has been received; therefore, no permission or licence has been granted.”

A spokesman for the Trump campaign said it had obtained a licence. “The campaign had a licence to play ABBA music through our agreement with BMI and ASCAP,” the spokesperson told the AP.

ABBA joins a long list of performers who’ve objected to Trump using their songs. Ahead of the 2020 election, that included Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Pharrell, John Fogerty, Neil Young, Eddy Grant, Panic! at the Disco, R.E.M. and Guns N’ Roses.

This cycle, Celine Dion asked the candidate to stop using “My Heart Will Go On” and Beyoncé blocked Trump from using her song “Freedom” in a campaign video. In 2016, Adele asked Trump to quit playing her songs at political rallies.

Campaigns don’t need an artist’s express permission to play their songs at rallies as long as the political organisation or the venue has gotten what’s known as a blanket licence from the performing rights organisations ASCAP and BMI.

Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said its reporter in July attended a Trump rally in Minnesota where “The Winner Takes it All” was played. Universal Music in Sweden said videos had surfaced of ABBA’s music being played during at least one Trump event.

ABBA, who have scored 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, released a comeback album, “Voyage,” in 2021.

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