Steven Tyler Orders Donald Trump To Stop Playing ‘Dream On’ — For The Second Time
Wherever Steven Tyler’s political affiliations lie, or however apparently tight he is with Donald Trump, he absolutely does not want the billionaire and now surprise GOP presidential candidate to play his song “Dream On” at campaign events.
Donald has been warned before not to play the song, and he has been called to the carpet by other musicians angry that he added their tunes to his campaign playlist without permission.
His attorney sent a cease and desist letter to the politician, and if he doesn’t comply this time, the rocker may sue him, the Hollywood Reporter added.
Back in August, Steven told the GOP candidate not to use the song after an event in Mobile, Alabama. Fast forward to a recent rally in Georgia, and he blasted the song again.
The cease and desist letter was obtained by the media Sunday; it was sent to Trump’s attorneys over the weekend, the New York Daily News added. And it explains in no uncertain terms that he is not allowed to play “Dream On.”
“(He) not have our client’s permission to use ‘Dream On’ … (it) gives the false impression that he is connected with or endorses (his) presidential bid. We are unaware of any public performance license granting Trump for President the right to perform ‘Dream On’ in connection with the Campaign.”
He is also prohibited from using any songs written by Steven or Aerosmith. Tyler is, in fact, a registered Republican and had attended the Republican debate, and his attorney, Dina LaPolt, stressed that the letter to Trump wasn’t political or personal but a simple matter of copyright law.
Donald has 24 hours to admit he received the letter, and if he doesn’t obey the order, he may be forced to move forward with “all legal or equitable remedies which our client may have against you”
Apparently, Tyler is a stickler for copyright and intellectual property and has worked with both Democrats and Republicans on behalf of creative types like himself. His stance: People must get permission to play music from its creator.
Interestingly, there hasn’t been bad blood between the politician and the musician before. In fact, the duo seemed to have been fairly friendly. Steven Tyler was the GOP candidate’s personal guest at the debate and he was once a judge at a Miss USA pageant. They also traveled to Russia together and, last year, Donald gave glowing reviews after he attended an Aerosmith concert.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean Donald gets a free pass to use Steven’s music.
The billionaire is a stickler for copyright laws himself. He’s already trademarked his slogan “Make America Great Again” and in typical Trump fashion has aggressively gone after anyone who dares use the phrase, including people who made StopTrump.us t-shirts.
Donald has made a habit of playing music at his campaign without permission, and Tyler isn’t the first person to get angry about it. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe was absolutely irate when he used “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.” He made his feelings known in an official statement and didn’t beat around the bush.
“Go f— yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.”
R.E.M. sent Trump a cease and desist letter just like Steven Tyler, and Neil Young had done the same thing when he used “Rockin’ In the Free World” without asking nicely first.
The Reporter pointed out a number of other musicians who’ve stood up against Republican politicians who’ve used their tunes, including Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, and David Byrne.
[Photo Courtesy Jason Davis / Getty Images]
