The American group is filing a complaint against the Republican candidate who used the iconic song “Seven Nation Army” in a campaign video.
Published on 10/09/2024 18:25
Reading time: 1 min
A new legal case for Donald Trump. This time, the candidate for the American presidential election is being sued by a rock group reformed for the occasion: the White Stripes. At issue is the use of their worldwide hit Seven Nation Armyin a campaign video for the Republican candidate. While many artists have opposed Donald Trump’s use of their works in recent weeks, almost none have taken the step of filing a complaint.
The introductory notes of Seven Nation Army don’t go unnoticed. Released in 2003, the song went around the world and stadiums, before landing on X, formerly Twitter, on August 29 in a post by Donald Trump’s campaign team, a video showing the candidate boarding his plane.
As soon as this video was published, Jack White, the author of the hit, had promised to file a complaint. And he kept his promise with this summons revealed Monday, September 9 on his Instagram account, and brought before a New York court. With his former partner of the White Stripes, Meg White, they are seeking compensation for illegal use of their song, as in 2016.
In recent weeks, Neil Young, Celine Dion, Beyoncé and the Foo Fighters have protested after the use of iconic titles during the Republican candidate’s rallies. But only the heirs of Isaac Hayes have announced that they will officially file a complaint. In his Instagram post, Jack White refers to the sentence that Woody Guthrie wrote on his guitar, “This machine kills fascists”transformed into “This machine sues fascists”, “This machine chases the fascists”.