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a14 people & arts
Wednesday 28 OctOber 2020
Stop the music! Chorus of artists tell Trump to turn it down

By ANDREW DALTON are potential spreaders of
AP Entertainment Writer the coronavirus may be
LOS ANGELES (AP) — From adding intensity to artists'
the beloved opening lines desire not to have their
of Leonard Cohen's "Hal- music contribute.
lelujah" to the rousing, "It's not a great look for
children's-choir conclusion the artists, if their music is
of the Rolling Stones' "You aligned with something
Can't Always Get What You seen as unsafe," Kaufman
Want," President Donald said.
Trump's campaign rallies Many social-media observ-
have been filled with clas- ers pointed out that, given
sic songs whose authors its title, Collins' "In The Air To-
and their heirs loudly reject night" was especially tone-
him and his politics. deaf when it was played
It's become a sub-cycle in at Trump's Oct. 14 rally in
the endless campaign cy- In this combination photo, Neil Young performs at the BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival Iowa. Collins' attorneys
cle. The Trump campaign in Napa, Calif. on May 25, 2019, from left, John Fogerty performs at the New Orleans Jazz and promptly demanded the
can hardly play a song Heritage Festival in New Orleans on May 5, 2019 and Phil Collins performs during his "Not Dead Yet campaign stop using the
without the artist denounc- Tour" in Philadelphia on Oct. 8, 2018. song.
ing its use and sending a Associated Press Legally, politicians don't
cease-and-desist letter. virtually never make the use of his songs. nate Son," his 1969 hit with necessarily need direct
Neil Young, John Fogerty, same demands of Demo- "Imagine what it feels like Creedence Clearwater permission from artists.
Phil Collins, Panic! At The cratic candidates. to hear 'Rockin' in the Free Revival, whose condemna- Campaigns can buy broad
Disco and the estates of "I've been covering this World' after this President tion of privileged children licensing packages from
Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty beat for probably 20 years, speaks, like it is his theme of rich men who did not music rights organizations,
and Prince are just a few of and this is probably as stark song," Young wrote on his serve in Vietnam sounds including BMI and ASCAP,
those who have objected. a division I've seen as far as website in July. "I did not like a tailor-made slam of that give them legal ac-
Campaigns have been artists not wanting a politi- write it for that." Trump. cess to millions of songs
turning popular songs into cian to use their songs," That feeling that they've "I find it confusing that the BMI said the Rolling Stones
theme songs for more than said Billboard contribu- been drafted onto Team president has chosen to had opted out of inclu-
a century, and American tor Gil Kaufman, who has Trump clearly fuels many use my song for his political sion in those licenses, and
artists have been objecting been covering the conver- artists' anger. rallies, when in fact it seems it informed the Trump cam-
at least since 1984, when gence of music and politics "Their music is their identity," like he is probably the fortu- paign that if it did not stop
Bruce Springsteen denied for the record trade maga- Kaufman said. "It's impor- nate son," Fogerty said in a playing "You Can't Always
the use of "Born in the zine during the campaign. tant to them to not appear video on Facebook in Sep- Get What You Want," a
U.S.A." to the Ronald Rea- "The choice is so stark for a as though they are tacitly tember. Trump favorite in regular
gan reelection campaign. lot of voters, and it is for mu- endorsing Trump." He was more fiery after he rotation at his rallies, the
But this year, the issue sicians too." Other artists have been kept hearing it played. campaign would be in
has reached an unprec- Few have objected as more befuddled than an- "He is using my words and breach of its agreement.
edented saturation point, adamantly as Young. The gry about the playing of my voice to portray a mes- But even if their songs can
indicative of a wide cul- fiercely opinionated rock songs whose themes are sage that I do not endorse," be played contractually,
tural divide between the Hall-of-Famer is the rare the exact opposite of the Fogerty said in an Oct. artists can still object. That
president and his support- musician who has gone be- messages Trump is sending. 16 tweet announcing a usually just means a public
ers, and overwhelmingly yond demands and filed a Fogerty said he was baffled cease-and-desist order. demand to the campaign.
left-leaning musicians, who lawsuit over the repeated by Trump's use of "Fortu- That the president's rallies "A lot of the time it just takes
the cease-and-desist to tell
‘Magic Tree House’ books them not to use it, that's al-
ready enough for the artist
to be adapted into graphic to get their message out
that they're not associated
novels with the campaign and
did not approve the use,"
said Heidy Vaquerano, a
Los Angeles attorney who
NEW YORK (AP) — Mary Pope Osborne is preparing her million-selling specializes in entertain-
"Magic Tree House" series for a new adventure. ment law and intellectual
She is teaming with playwright Jenny Laird and the illustrators-sisters property. q
Kelly Matthews and Nichole Matthews to adapt her work for graphic
novels. The first release will be an adaptation of the first "Magic Tree Solution Sudoku
House" book, "Dinosaurs Before Dark," and is scheduled for May 4.
Future editions are to come out every six months.
"I'm so excited for Jack and Annie's time travel adventures to reach
a new generation of readers who are drawn to the thrilling visual ex-
perience that graphic novels provide," Osborne said in a statement
Tuesday. "As with all of my books, I hope these adaptations will inspire This cover image released by Random
children to learn more about world history and instill in them a lifelong House Children’s Books shows "Dinosaurs
love of reading." Before Dark" the first release of Mary Pope
According to Random House Books for Young Readers, Osborne's Osborne's "Magic Tree House: The Graphic
series has sold more than 140 million copies worldwide since it began Novel" series, scheduled for release on May
in 1992.q 4.
Associated Press
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