Rolling Stones Tell President Trump To Stop Playing Their Songs At Rallies, Threaten Legal Action
(CNN) -- The Rolling Stones are threatening legal action against President Donald Trump's campaign for using their music at his campaign rallies.
"Despite cease & desist directives to Donald Trump in the past, The Rolling Stones are taking further steps to exclude him using their songs at any of his future political campaigning," a spokesman for the band said in a statement Saturday.
As first reported in Deadline, the Stones legal team is working with BMI, the performing rights organization, on the issue.
"The BMI have notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorized use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement. If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed," the statement said.
The Stones' classic 1968 hit "You Can't Always Get What You Want" has served as the Trump campaign's walk-off song during campaign rallies, including in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week.
The Trump campaign declined to comment.
The Stones have previously taken issue with the Trump campaign's use of their music, though without legal threats. In 2016, during the run-up to the presidential election, the Rolling Stones asked him to stop playing their music during his campaign events and rallies.
"The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately," the British band's publicist, Fran Curtis, told CNN at the time.
Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger has previously told the BBC it was a "kind of weird" choice for Trump to use the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" to wrap up his rallies.
"It's a funny song for a play-out song -- a drowsy ballad about drugs in Chelsea," Jagger said. "It's kind of weird. He couldn't be persuaded to use something else."
The Rolling Stones are just the latest musicians to take issue with the Trump campaign's musical choices. Last week, Tom Petty's family issued a cease and desist notice to the Trump campaign after "I Won't Back Down" was played at the Tulsa rally.
The-CNN-Wire
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