Should musicians be able to tell candidates that they can/cannot use their music?

Music is a musician’s intellectual property. If they aren’t getting royalties or payment in some form, they don’t want their music being used. They also may not want their music associated with a particular political group or whatever.

How exactly did you make this amazing leap of logic that the politicians don’t profit from this?

Of course they are profiting by using those songs. Not money profit, but gaining votes and good feelings towards the candidates.
Bruce Springsteen had to tell Ronald Reagan to stop using “Born In The USA”. It made me laugh that Reagan’s people didn’t understand that wasn’t a patriotic song.

@johnpowell Using the traditional definition of the word

I seriously doubt that people make their decisions based on the music a candidate uses.

Yes, and they should also tell talk radio people not to, as well. Ian Curtis is rolling over in his grave after a Joy Division song was used on right-wing radio.

And I still laugh at Glenn Beck’s use of Green Day’s “American Idiot”.

Here are a couple of good articles/discussions about the issue, I think.

One

Two

It can be complicated and involves copyright law, other legal issues and the damage an artist simply making a big public stink about it can do to a campaign.

@lillycoyote I don’t think Bachmann needs help on the damage part.

If I was a musician, I wouldn’t want to be associated with either one of those buttheads either.

@incendiary_dan Yeah, I was surprised at that too.

What part of “don’t want to be a part of a redneck agenda” made him think that was a good idea?

@cletrans2col No, she doesn’t, you’re spot on there.

I think the key part of your question is “their music”.

Put yourself in their place. If you created something, would you want someone else to use it without permission…especially if that use might have a negative influence on how you’re publicly perceived?

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