Oct 11, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Prince's estate says Trump campaign used "Purple Rain" at rally despite agreement

Rashaan Ayesh

President Trump at a campaign rally — Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty Images

The late musician Prince's estate tweeted that President Trump's campaign used the song "Purple Rain" at its Minneapolis rally on Thursday despite a 2018 letter from the campaign's lawyers confirming that it would no longer use the artist's music.

The big picture: Musicians have spoken out against Trump using their music at campaign rallies for years, but this is an interesting case where the artist in question has actually produced a legal agreement on the matter.

Most recently, a video tweeted by Trump that attacked former Vice President Joe Biden over the ongoing Ukraine controversy and used "Photograph" by Nickelback was removed after a copyright complaint from the band, per the Washington Post.

A non-exhaustive list of musicians that have spoken against Trump using their music:

The Rolling Stones, whose "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is used as the capstone song to most Trump campaign events
Neil Young
R.E.M.
Adele
Elton John
Queen
George Harrison's estate
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler
Pharrell Williams

Read the letter, via the Prince estate's tweet:

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Prince's estate says Trump campaign used "Purple Rain" at rally despite agreement

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