Donald Trump played “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses at his West Virginia rally on Friday. Axl Rose is not cool with that.
The GNR frontman clarified the band’s stance on Trump in a Twitter thread on Saturday. Turns out, they’ve “formally requested” that the Trump campaign stop using their music, but there’s only so much they can do.
“Unfortunately the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent,” he wrote.
Basically, this means that even if a band requests that Trump doesn’t use their work, he can still get away with using it if a rally venue does have it licensed.
Anyone who sings along enthusiastically to GNR at a Trump rally is… probably not aware of Axl Rose’s politics. He’s been openly and staunchly anti-Trump since the president was elected, even declaring in September that “we don’t have a president.” During GNR’s 2016 Coachella set, the band invited fans to smash a Donald Trump piñata onstage.
Read Axl Rose’s full thread below.
Just so ya know… GNR like a lot of artists opposed to the unauthorized use of their music at political events has formally requested r music not b used at Trump rallies or Trump associated events.
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) November 4, 2018
Unfortunately the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent.
Can u say “shitbags?!”💩
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) November 4, 2018
Personally I kinda liked the irony of Trump supporters listening to a bunch of anti Trump music at his rallies but I don’t imagine a lot of ‘em really get that or care.
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) November 4, 2018
And when ur phone’s blowin’ up cuz peeps r seein’/hearin’ Sweet Child on the news at a rally… as a band we felt we should clarify r position. Peace!🇺🇸
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) November 4, 2018
Read more: https://mashable.com/article/axl-rose-trump-music-licensing/