Award-winning pop artist and sometime diplomat Rihanna has pulled her music from the political rallies of US President Donald Trump, joining a host of other artists disallowing the use of their songs in the service of the increasingly unpopular American leader.
The musician, through her performing rights company Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), told the promotional office of the US president that her music is no longer allowed to be used at any Trump-branded events, according to a Friday report from the Los Angeles Times.
By removing her music from a so-called political entities license that allows songs to be played at Trump events, the Barbados-born singer joins a host of other high-profile artists who have pulled permissions for their works to played at the president’s carefully-staged ideological rallies, according to The Hill.
“BMI has received a communication from Robyn Fenty, professionally known as ‘Rihanna,’ objecting to the Trump Campaign’s use of Rihanna’s musical works,” BMI noted on November 6, according to Latimes.com.
“This letter serves as notice that Rihanna’s musical works are excluded from the [political entities] Agreement, and any performance of Rihanna’s musical works by the Trump Campaign from this date forward is not authorized by BMI,” noted the letter, cited by The Hill.
Sent to senior members of the US president’s promotional cadre, the BMI letter follows a tweet in which Rihanna vowed that her music would never again be played at Trump’s “tragic rallies.”
The musician — who also works in a diplomatic capacity for her Caribbean island home country — was made aware that a hit song of hers entitled “Don’t Stop the Music” was played to warm up the crowd for Trump’s arrival last week in Tallahassee, Florida.
“Not for much longer,” Rihanna tweeted, adding, “Me nor my people would never be at or around one of those tragic rallies.”
After the same song was used again in a Chattanooga, Tennessee, rally, the musician’s legal team fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Trump.
“As you are or should be aware, Ms. Fenty has not provided her consent to Mr. Trump to use her music. Such use is therefore improper,” stated the letter, according to Rolling Stone.
The powerful 30-year-old entertainment figure — with a dizzying array of awards and number-one hits — joins many other high-profile musical acts that have shut the door on Trump and his highly-charged political rallies.
Lawyers for pop star Pharrell Williams sent Trump a cease and desist letter after the former’s song “Happy” was played at a rally for the president just hours after a shooting massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania left 11 dead.
Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, noted that Trump’s team continued to play his band’s music, even though they had been formally requested to stop, according to The Hill.
“Unfortunately the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent,” Rose tweeted. “Can u say ‘sh##bags?!'”
Members of Prince’s estate, as well as Elton John, Twisted Sister, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler have issued commands for Trump to stop using their music.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
