ABBA Demands Trump Campaign Remove Their Music from Rally Playlist

Swedish supergroup ABBA has requested Donald Trump to stop using their music at his campaign rallies. However, Trump’s campaign asserts that they have the necessary permissions.

“ABBA has recently discovered the unauthorized use of their music and videos at a Trump event through videos that appeared online,” the band, known for hits like “Waterloo,” “The Winner Takes It All,” and “Money, Money, Money,” said in a statement to The Associated Press.

“As a result, ABBA and its representatives have promptly requested the removal and deletion of such content. No request has been received; therefore, no permission or license has been granted.”

A spokesman for the Trump campaign countered, saying a license had been obtained. “The campaign had a license to play ABBA music through our agreement with BMI and ASCAP,” the spokesperson told the AP.

ABBA joins a long list of performers who have objected to Trump using their songs. Ahead of the 2020 election, artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Pharrell, John Fogerty, Neil Young, Eddy Grant, Panic! at the Disco, R.E.M., and Guns N’ Roses also voiced their objections.

This election cycle, Celine Dion has asked Trump to stop using “My Heart Will Go On,” and Beyoncé blocked Trump from using her song “Freedom” in a campaign video. In 2016, Adele requested that Trump cease playing her songs at political rallies.

Campaigns do not need an artist’s express permission to play their songs at rallies, as long as the political organization or the venue has obtained a blanket license from the performing rights organizations ASCAP and BMI.

Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that its journalist, who attended a Trump rally in Minnesota in July, heard “The Winner Takes It All” being played. Universal Music in Sweden confirmed that videos have surfaced showing ABBA’s music being played at at least one Trump event.

ABBA, who have scored 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, released a comeback album, “Voyage,” in 2021.

Source: The Associated Press, Svenska Dagbladet