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ABBA has told Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to stop playing their music at rallies and events, saying no permission had been granted. The Swedish super group had a number of songs played at a Trump event in Minnesota last month, their record label Universal Music confirmed.
In a statement, Universal Music said on behalf of ABBA: “Together with the members of ABBA, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA’s music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down.” They have called for such uses to be deleted forthwith.
Other iconic artists have also complained of their work being used politically without permission. The estate of late Irish singer Sinead O’Connor, this March, demanded that Trump stop using her hit song “Nothing Compares 2 U” since she, too, was critical of him. They claim that her legacy and vision should not align with someone she is strongly opposing.
ABBA want no part of this unsolicited political partnership, telling Donald Trump and team to find other tunes for the campaign-in a similar vein to predecessors who protected artistry from unwanted alignment.
