Most big name music stars are not exactly fans of the Republican Party. As a matter of fact, several of them, including Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, and David Byrne, among others, have used the threat of legal action to stop Republican candidates and GOP office holders from using their songs.
During the 2008 presidential election season, Browne, Foo Fighters, and John Mellencamp all demanded that Republican presidential candidate John McCain stop utilizing their musical compositions.
The latest celebrity to employ this tactic and halt the use by a Republican of a musical work involves a tune that is being played at campaign events by presidential candidate and current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
The song in question is the Aerosmith recording, “Dream On,” and the musician making the legal threat is Steven Victor Tallarico, a.k.a., Steven Tyler.
This is not the first time that Trump has been the target of a musician’s anti- GOP sentiment. At the outset of Trump’s presidential bid, Young's song, “Rockin’ in the Free World,” was played at campaign stops. It turns out, though, that Young is a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate and avowed socialist Bernie Sanders.
Young claimed that Trump’s use of his song “was not authorized.” However, a campaign spokesperson for Trump told the press that the song was “paid for” and that the campaign had “obtained the legal right” to use it. Nevertheless, Trump’s campaign made the decision to quit playing the tune.
This past weekend Tyler's representatives sent the Trump campaign a letter, demanding that the candidate stop playing “Dream On” at campaign events.
The correspondence sent from Tyler's people stated that the presidential candidate’s campaign “does not have our client’s [Tyler’s] permission to use ‘Dream On’ or any of our client’s other music in connection with the Campaign because it gives the false impression that he is connected with or endorses Mr. Trump’s presidential bid.”
Purportedly, the Trump campaign was asked back in August not to use the Aerosmith song after the tune was played at an event in Alabama. The campaign, however, continued to play the song at subsequent events.
Tyler’s attorney issued a statement to the press that revealed something many fans might find surprising; and that is the front man for Aerosmith happens to be a registered Republican. In August 2015, Tyler and other members of his band were present at the first GOP presidential primary debate in Cleveland, Ohio, and Tyler was reportedly Trump's personal guest, according to the Washington Post.
When big name celebrities are associated with high-profile GOP candidates, public relations spin often becomes necessary. Tyler's publicist told People at the time, “Steven Tyler is a bipartisan advocate on issues that he is passionate about. Why wouldn't he support the Republican debates?
Some of his closest allies in Washington, D.C. on copyright reform are Republican. He believes many things can be accomplished when you get along with everyone and work across party lines.”
After attending an Aerosmith concert in 2014, Trump posted high praise for the group’s musical performance on his Twitter account, stating that it “doesn't get any better than that.”
Trump and Tyler reportedly connected after Tyler had served as a judge in the Trump-owned Miss USA pageant, and the two also reportedly once journeyed to Russia together.
Tyler's attorney in the “Dream On” matter, Dina LaPolt, made it a point to issue a statement that read, “This is not a political nor personal issue with Mr. Trump.”
LaPolt evidently also felt the necessity to convey that her client is bipartisan in nature, stating, “Steven works tirelessly with both Republicans and Democrats regarding copyright reform and his position has always been consistent regarding copyright and intellectual property.”
Interestingly, also included in the attorney's statement was the following explicit admission: “Steven is a registered Republican.”
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read more reports from James Hirsen — Click Here Now.
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