ABBA joins music artists demanding Trump stop playing their songs

Swedish pop group ABBA has become the latest set of famous musicians to demand that former President Trump stop playing their songs at his campaign rallies.

As Politico reported on Thursday, ABBA’s record company told a Swedish outlet that both it and the band are requesting Trump to stop playing their music immediately. Other artists that have demanded the former president refrain from playing their songs include Foo Fighters, Celine Dion, and Beyoncé.

“We, together with the members of [ABBA], have discovered that videos have been released where Abba’s music has been used at Trump’s events and have requested that such use be immediately taken down and removed,” the band’s record company told outlet Svenska Dagbladet on Thursday.

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Trump reportedly played some of the band’s classic hits during his Minnesota rally in July, including “The Winner Takes It All” and “Money, Money, Money.”

The record company justified the complaint by stating that Trump has not been licensed to play the songs. 

“Universal Music Publishing AB and Polar Music International AB have not received any request, so no permission or license has been granted to Trump,” it told the outlet.

When asked for response, Trump 2024 campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung relayed Digital to a Trump official who said, “The campaign had a license to play ABBA music through our agreement with BMI [Broadcast Music, Inc.] and ASCAP [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers].”

Both BMI and ASCAP have yet to reply to Digital’s request to respond to Cheung.

Famous rock band Foo Fighters recently blasted the Trump campaign for playing their song “My Hero” to introduce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a rally in Arizona last week.

The band declared on X that it does not approve of Trump playing its songs.

A spokesperson for the band gave Billboard.com a statement about Trump using the song. Which stated, “Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it.” 

The spokesperson added that “appropriate actions are being taken” against Trump’s campaign and that any royalties from song plays will be donated to the Harris-Walz campaign.

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Beyoncé’s record label attempted to block the Trump campaign from using her music in campaign videos this month. (James Devaney/GC Images/Getty Images)

Cheung pushed back on the statement in a reply to , stating that BMI had given the Trump team license for the song. 

Both Foo Fighters and BMI did not reply to Fox’s request about Cheung’s statement. 

Earlier this month, Celine Dion slammed the Trump/Vance campaign for using her song, “My Heart Will Go On,” made famous in the movie “Titanic.”

A post on her X account stated, “Today, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana.”

“In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” the account said, adding “…And really, THAT song?”

The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr raged about Trump playing one of his band’s songs during several rallies in January, writing on X, “Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this s— shut right down right now.”

The estate of late “Nothing Compares to You” singer Sinead O’Connor, as well as the family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes, have also asked Trump to stop using their songs at rallies, with Hayes’ family even filing a lawsuit against the former president.

Beyoncé’s record label moved to block the campaign from using her song “Freedom” in August, prompting the campaign to delete a video of the former president featuring the song from social media.

As Politico noted, other artists including Adele, Aerosmith and even Guns ‘N Roses have complained about the Trump team using their songs in recent years. 

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