Rolling Stones threaten to sue Trump over using their songs

LONDON (AP) — The Rolling Stones are threatening President Donald Trump with legal action for using their songs at his rallies despite cease-and-desist directives.

The Stones said in a statement Sunday that their legal team is working with music rights organization BMI to stop use of their material in Trump’s reelection campaign.

“The BMI have notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorized use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement,” the Stones said. “If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists, then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed.’’

The Trump campaign team didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Stones had complained during Trump’s 2016 campaign about the use of their music to fire up his conservative base at rallies.

The Rolling Stones’ 1969 classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” was a popular song for his events. It was played again at the close of Trump’s recent rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma — an indoor event criticized for its potential to spread the coronavirus.

The music rights organization BMI provides licenses for venues to play a broad array of music and has a catalog of more than 15 million songs that can be played at political events. Artists can opt out of having their music played at political events, and a BMI statement says the Stones have done that.

BMI has informed the Trump campaign that if it plays Stones music again at an event, it will be in breach of its licensing agreement, the statement said.

Other artists have also complained about having their music associated with Trump’s events.

The family of the late rock musician Tom Petty said that it had issued a cease-and-desist order after Trump used the song “I Won’t Back Down″ in Tulsa.

“Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,″ the statement said. “Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a song of his to be used in a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.″

Grammy Award-winning musician Neil Young lashed out at Trump in 2018 after hearing one of his songs played against his wishes during Trump’s pre-midterm campaign rallies.

 

The Canadian-born musician admonished Trump for using his 1990 single, “Rockin’ in the Free World,” in spite of earlier warnings.

AP

Rolling Stones release new song 'Living in a Ghost Town'

NEW YORK — The Rolling Stones on Thursday released their first new original music since 2012, a single aptly named "Living in a Ghost Town."

Frontman Mick Jagger announced the surprise release on Twitter, saying, "The Stones were in the studio recording new material before the lockdown & one song -- Living In A Ghost Town -- we thought would resonate through the times we're living in."

Speaking to Apple Music moments later, Jagger said he and Keith Richards wrote the song over a year ago, but that it was uncannily fitting to current times.

"It wasn't written for now, but it was just one of those odd things," he said.

"It was written about being in a place which was full of life but is now bereft of life so to speak... I was just jamming on the guitar and wrote it really quickly in like 10 minutes."


Before releasing the moody song heavy on twang, Jagger tweaked some of the lyrics to fit the contemporary moment.

"Some of it is not going to work and some of it was a bit weird and a bit too dark," Jagger said. "So I slightly rewrote it. I didn't have to rewrite very much, to be honest. It's very much how I originally did it."

The 76-year-old sings of chaos and destruction and the seemingly infinite loneliness of isolation.

"Life was so beautiful / Then we all got locked down," Jagger sings.

"Please let this be over / Stuck in a world without end."

Also speaking to Apple Music, Richards said the song was cut in 2019 at a Los Angeles studio and re-worked for release recently.

"It's sort of eerie when suddenly it's coming to life," he said, adding that he'd been thinking the pandemic was an appropriate time for release.

"Then Mick called me and said the same thing and that great minds think alike."

The iconic British rockers have spent much of the past two decades touring, though the coronavirus halted those plans.

The band was set to play 15 shows across North America starting May 8, but all have been postponed due to the pandemic.

"Living in a Ghost Town" is the Stones' first original work since 2012's "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot" came out on the greatest hits album "GRRR!"

The band hasn't released an original album since 2005's "A Bigger Bang" but have said they've slowly been working on a new collection over the past several years.

Over the weekend, the Stones headlined a marathon virtual concert put on by the international advocacy organization Global Citizen in collaboration with Lady Gaga.

Appearing ageless, Jagger delivered the classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want," as his fellow Stones played from their respective homes, including a grinning Charlie Watts on the air drums.

Agence France-Presse

Michelle Branch covers Rolling Stones classic

US singer-songwriter Michelle Branch has posted audio for her version of The Rolling Stones’ Play With Fire.

Track: Michelle Branch – Play With Fire

File under: sparse, country-tinged rendition of the Stones chestnut

The song was produced by John Leventhal, who previously worked on the Arizona-born Branch’s 2003 full-length Hotel Paper and 2010′s EP Everything Comes And Goes, not to mention her music with Jessica Harp in The Wreckers.

source: classicrockmagazine.com

No Rolling Stones tour despite 50th anniversary

NEW YORK — The Rolling Stones are staying put this year, Rolling Stone reported Wednesday, leaving fans to look forward instead to a major documentary marking the rock band’s 50th anniversary.

“Basically, we’re just not ready” for a fresh concert tour, guitarist Keith Richards told the pop culture magazine, adding that 2013 was the group’s “more realistic” target for hitting the road.

Quoting other, unidentified sources, Rolling Stone cited worries about Richards’ health in the wake of a head injury he sustained in Fiji in 2006 as one reason for the band to stay close to home.

“They don’t want to do a full tour,” a concert industry source told the biweekly magazine. “They don’t want to travel, and there are concerns about Keith’s health.”

On their website, the Stones announced Wednesday the upcoming release of “a groundbreaking and eye-opening documentary,” directed by Brett Morgen, covering the history of the band from its founding in London in 1962 to today.

“The film will be showcased in September as part of the Rolling Stones 50th anniversary celebrations,” said the website, without elaboration.

Rolling Stone said the Stones reassembled in a London studio in December to play together for the first time since their Bigger Bang tour ended in 2007—with bassist Bill Wyman sitting in for the first time since he quit in 1992.

“We played a lot of blues and outtakes of ‘Some Girls’ and things like that,” it quoted lead singer Mick Jagger as saying. “It went very well.”

Whether Wyman would join them on the road in 2013 was still not resolved.

“I think he’s up for it,” Richards said. “We talked about it.”

source: japantoday.com