The Swedish pop group ABBA has asked US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign to stop using their songs at his events, stating that they did not permit their music to be played.
The band’s record label stated on Thursday after several of ABBA’s iconic songs, including “Dancing Queen,” “Money, Money, Money,” and “The Winner Takes It All,” were played at a Trump rally in Minnesota last month.
“Together with the members of ABBA, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA’s music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down,” Universal Music said in a news release.
This isn’t the first time artists have objected to their music being used at Trump’s political events without permission. Earlier this month, the family of soul and funk artist Isaac Hayes threatened legal action over the unauthorized use of his songs.
In July, a journalist from the Swedish outlet Svenska Dagbladet reported that “The Winner Takes It All” was played at a Trump campaign event in Minnesota, followed by a 10-minute video clip of ABBA performing some of their most famous hits, which was projected onto a large screen.
In March, the estate of Irish singer Sinead O’Connor also asked Trump to stop using her song “Nothing Compares 2 U” at his campaign events. A joint statement from O’Connor’s estate and record label expressed that she would have been “disgusted, hurt, and insulted” by the use of her music, calling on Trump to cease using it immediately.
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