Guyanese-British singer Eddy Grant wins damages against Donald Trump after he used Electric Avenue without seeking the artist’s permission.
In 2020, while running for re-election, the former President used Electric Avenue in a campaign video and posted it to Twitter (now known as X). After issuing a cease and desist letter to the Trump campaign asking for the video to be removed, it finally was taken down. In that time, it had been viewed over 13 million times. Eddy Grant sued Trump for copyright infringement.
Trump’s defence attempted to argue they were permitted to use the song, as outlined in US copyright law, under ‘fair use’, which allows the limited use of copyrighted material without asking for permission. However, four years later, according to BBC News, “a federal judge in Manhattan ruled Mr Trump breached Mr Grant’s copyright for his 1983 hit, and is now liable for damages as well as paying for the singer’s legal fees”.
The case highlights longstanding issues within the music industry about the need to compensate artists for the use of their work and a trickier conversation about how their work gets used by others. Trump’s campaign thought it would be appropriate to use a song written about the 1981 Brixton riots, simply for these lyrics: “Now in the street, there is violence, and a lots of work to be done”. Juxtaposed to imagery in their video of a red “Trump-Pence” train speeding ahead of a handcar operated by an animated likeness of then-candidate Joe Biden, as described by Copyrightlately.
Eddy Grant can celebrate his win but he is part of a long list of artists who have taken action against Trump and are opposed to him using their music. These include:
ABBA
Adele
Aerosmith
A-ha
The Animals
The Beatles
Beyoncé
Bruce Springsteen
Celine Dion
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Earth, Wind & Fire
Eddy Grant
Elton John
Everlast
Foo Fighters
Free
Guns N’ Roses
Isaac Hayes
Johnny Marr
Leonard Cohen
Linkin Park
Luciano Pavarotti
Neil Young
Nickelback
Nico Vega
The O’Jays
Ozzy Osbourne
Panic! at the Disco
Pharrell Williams
Phil Collins
Prince
Queen
R.E.M.
Rihanna
The Rolling Stones
Sinéad O’Connor
Spinal Tap
Tom Petty
Twisted Sister
Village People
The White Stripes
Yoann Lemoine
Furthermore, a group of artists, in collaboration with the Artist Rights Alliance, which includes: Mick Jagger, Lorde, Sia, Blondie, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Lionel Richie, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, Steven Tyler and Rosanne Cash have signed a letter demanding that politicians seek permission before playing their music at campaign rallies and public events.
Collective action like this might change the impetus to use copyrighted material without permission in future. At present, the outcomes for the above cases against Trump are still pending.
