Tom Petty’s family send Trump a ‘cease and desist’ for using his song ‘Won’t Back Down’

‘Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate’: Family of the late singer send Trump a ‘cease and desist’ for using his song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ at his Tulsa rally

  • Tom Petty, who died October 2017 aged 66, strongly protected his artistic rights
  • His family Saturday night asked that Trump campaign no longer play his song 
  • Petty’s 1989 song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ was played in Tulsa on Saturday
  • The Petty family join a long list of musicians who have objected
  • The Trump campaign is unlikely to heed their request as music is licensed 

Relatives of the late Tom Petty have appealed to Donald Trump to stop using his music after Trump played a Petty song at his Saturday night rally in Tulsa.

Trump played Petty’s 1989 song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ at his first rally since March. 

‘Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,’ wrote his daughters Adria and Annakim, and his two former wives, Dana and Jane Petty.

Petty, who was a staunch guardian of his own artistic control, died in October 2017, aged 66, from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

Tom Petty’s two daughters Adria and Annakim and former wives Dana and Jane disapproved of Donald Trump’s use of Petty’s song at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night 

Trump's rally in Tulsa played Petty's song 'I Won't Back Down' - to the annoyance of his family

Trump’s rally in Tulsa played Petty’s song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ – to the annoyance of his family

His relatives write: ‘Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind.

‘Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.’ 

The four women write that they would ‘hate for fans that are marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage.’

Petty’s family join a long list of musicians who have complained about Trump using their music.

Tom Petty, who died in 2017, was a fierce defender of his own artistic rights

Tom Petty, who died in 2017, was a fierce defender of his own artistic rights

Top of the list are the Rolling Stones, whose song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ was a feature of his 2016 campaign, and has now become something of an anthem for his supporters.

The Stones have tried, and failed, to make the campaign stop using it. 

Others who have objected to their music being used by Trump at rallies include Pharrell Williams, R.E.M., Aerosmith, Neil Young, Adele, Rihanna and the Village People. 

They are unlikely to succeed, however. 

The Rolling Stones have objected to Donald Trump using their song

The Rolling Stones have objected to Donald Trump using their song 

Pharell WIlliams also disapproved of his music being used by the president

Pharell WIlliams also disapproved of his music being used by the president

Rihanna said that she did not agree with her music being co-opted by the Trump campaign

Rihanna said that she did not agree with her music being co-opted by the Trump campaign

According to an ASCAP document called Using Music In Political Campaigns, for a song to be used properly: ‘the campaign will need to contact the song’s publisher and possibly the artist’s record label to negotiate the appropriate licenses with them.’

That usage applies only to the use of a song in a campaign ad.

Rally organizers will have to apply for a license to play music at their venue, but once that license has been granted they can play the music they choose. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk