Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler Mad That Trump Dissed His Cease And Desist, Came Back With More

Why do most of the good singers and groups have to be left-wing sympathizers?

Country Music Nation is reporting that after finding out that President Donald Trump is still using his music at political rallies, Aerosmith’s lead singer Steven Tyler has decided to take matters into his own hands.

At a Trump rally in West Virginia on Tuesday, August 21st, Aerosmith’s 1993 hit song “Livin’ On The Edge” could be heard blaring from the arena’s speakers.

Tyler immediately called up his attorneys and had them draw up and send President Trump a cease and desist letter through his attorney Dina LaPolt. The letter accused the president of “willful infringement in broadcasting the song.”

THIS IS NOT ABOUT DEMS VS. REPUB. I DO NOT LET ANYONE USE MY SONGS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. MY MUSIC IS FOR CAUSES NOT FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS OR RALLIES. PROTECTING COPYRIGHT AND SONGWRITERS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR EVEN BEFORE THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION TOOK OFFICE.

— Steven Tyler (@IamStevenT) August 22, 2018

Trump then kept using his song and Tyler ended up suing the president.

Here is more on this issue via The Legal Artist:

“Let’s clear this up first: using a copyrighted song without a license is infringement, even if it’s for a non-commercial/political reason. Songs generally have many copyright owners (the writers, musicians, record label, licensing houses, publishers, etc.) and that means you need several licenses, not just one. The RIAA has a useful primer illustrating a campaign’s legal responsibility when licensing music. Here are some highlights:

“‘When music is played in public, such as at a campaign event, it is typically necessary to obtain a license for the musical composition (words and music). It is not necessary to obtain a license from the owner of the sound recording (usually a record label).”

“‘A campaign must obtain permission from the owner of the musical composition (usually a music publisher [such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC]). This is known as a ‘synch license.’”

“'[I]f a campaign wants to use a specific recording of the song (e.g., Survivor’s recording of ‘Eye of the Tiger’), then the campaign must obtain permission from the owner of the sound recording (usually the record label). This is known as a ‘master license.’”

The scene in WV before Trump’s rally. Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the edge” playing. pic.twitter.com/HW1qr9TBgE

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 21, 2018