Posts
This just in from the Foo Fighters' publicist:
FOO FIGHTERS DENOUNCE UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THEIR MUSIC BY MCCAIN CAMPAIGNHaving received confirmed press reports that John McCain has been using Foo Fighters' "My Hero" as the latest in a number of unauthorized theme songs at his campaign rallies without seeking permission from the band, its management, record label or publisher, Foo Fighters have issued the following statement:"This isn't the first time the McCain campaign has used a song without making any attempt to get approval or permission from the artist. It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property. The saddest thing about this is that "My Hero" was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song. We hope that the McCain campaign will do the right thing and stop using our song--and start asking artists' permission in general!"
21 comments:
I actually think less of John McCain because he chooses the Foo Fighters.
I can't listen to any music written by a musician who attended a high school with a calculator as a mascot. Foo Fighters suck. Maybe they should go back to the 1990s when they were relevant
Where is the MPAA and DRM during all of this? They want to sue people that illegally play songs, well John McCain has more than enough money that they can take. MPAA and DRM stop bugging the middle class and take on John McCain for using the Foo Fighters song. Go Foo Fighters
"I actually think less of John McCain because he chooses the Foo Fighters."
wow -- Matt, how can you say that? they are one of the few rock bands left. who cares about McCain? we're talking about Dave Grohl here!!
Matt-
How is your comment relevant to the post? I understand that you may not like the Foo Fighters, but for someone to publicly use a at an event used to raise money, they could at least ask the artist for permission.
Is it really that hard to ask?
Matt-
You clearly have poor taste in music.
@shortshire: I think you meant the RIAA. MPAA is the Motion Picture Assn of America, and has nothing to do with music. DRM is a technology to block music copying, not an organization which could 'take on John McCain'.
Matt sucks. Dave rocks.
wow McCain that was really low. Im not entirely sure but I think they used a Van Halen song w/o permission too, which is sad. poor bands, it sucks to have your songs used like that.
McCan't used Van Halen, Heart, Jackson Browne, and (now) Foo Fighter's music w/o permission.
I also disagree w/Matt, too...or rather...fifthly.
matt...your comments made no sense what so ever.
Go Foo Fighters!!!
Matt obviously blows goats for breakfast.
"blows goats for breakfast"
I'm going to use that quote for the rest of my life. I love you for sharing that. I nearly snotted on the screen.
Dave Grohl for president.
i'm pretty sure that as long as the venue in which the song was played pays royalties to bmi or ascap, they can legally play any music of any artist represented by those organizations. it's the same principle as being able to play a song on a jukebox without the artists' specific permission.
i can just imagine john mccain walking across the high school football field in slow motion with "My Hero" playing in the background. that is smart politics.
You don't have to like the Foo Fighters, Matt, but you kinda have to give props to Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters was a solo album - he wrote and played everything on it (barring on guitar track on one song). April '94 Nirvana was dead and Oct '94 he was in a studio recording the demo that would be the first Foo Fighters album.
By any measure that's impressive, even if you think the music sucks.
You don't need to "Get permission" from the band. You need to pay for a license to play the music publicly. The McCain campaign does pay the licensing fees. If the band members had to be PERSONALLY consulted each and every time someone wanted to buy a license to play their songs in public, their phones would be ringing off the hook. So there are agents, publishers, labels, and so forth that handle royalties and contracts and stupid crap like that. If I'm not mistaken, ASCAP is the organization that collects the public play royalties for most of the music industry in America. And no, I didn't make that awful acronym up: http://www.ascap.com/
What the band is saying is that McCain should STOP playing the music, and STOP paying the licensing fees. Because they don't like McCain, presumably. And I guess it's their prerogative to ask. But as long as the McCain campaign pays the fees, the band's wishes don't have any real legal weight. They just have PR weight. Mostly because lots of people don't understand how royalties work, but hey.
I hate McSame... but thanks for clearing up the technicalities, pal. Personally, after the first person came to me and said "Will you just ask first?", I would have started asking. He's a disrespectful person in general, as he's proved in both debates. It may not be legal, but knowing that you're associating someone's labor of love with politics they dislike... is just a dick move.
From an asshole.
@ Jungle
No record label owns any foo fighters music. Dave made sure that his own label would.
So at least with foo fighters, McCain NEEDS to ask the awesome Mr Grohl permission, or pay him some money to use that awesome music.
Hey Matt, could you please post a list of your top 5 favourite bands... We wanna have a laugh :-)
Really, who cares if McCain played a song at a rally because he liked it... They should be glad that a man who could potentialy be running the nation by this time next year gave thier sorry music air time in front of a NATION of viewers... Call it free advertisement if you will, but I agree with Matt on this one... This issue holds no political value what so ever... It doesnt matter if the guy chose the song, he probably didn't in the first place... One of his groupies probably had a flash back from a time he was in a bar somewhere and heard this catchy tune in the back ground and decided to throw it in the mix... The poo slingers suck... Always have... Talent or no... This subject is just another poke at a polotition who will never give it a second thought outside of a little page on the enternet full of people who have nothing better to do than role around thoughts back and forth about subjects that won't even be remembered next week...
I like punk and rap - Not the garbage Foo Fighters.
Give me Nas, Alkaline Trio, Fall Out Boy (first CD), Kanye, NWA... I listen to everything... but I don't include crap bands like Foo Fighters, OAR, Howie Day or any garbage like that.
The Foo Fighters grasp at straws to stay relevant.
Well I'd first like to thank jungle for interjecting some actual fact on this situation. I also enjoyed reading all of the typical comments and the idiot name Mcsame...how many brain cells did it take to come up with that one? Please involve yourself in some RESEARCH, not from the media, and then you can make presumptions. Although I do enjoy this particular song, I agree with Matt's aggravation. This election has been overrun with lame whining from supports of the left side. I do not claim that McCain is a perfect man, I am sure that he and Obama both have a decent size list of wrong doings. However, if you are going to complain about a candidate find something substantial, supported by REAL evidence.
Post a Comment