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Neil Young Granted Tim Walz Special Permission To Use ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ After Suing Trump Over It

Posted on by angelo
Neil Young Granted Tim Walz Special Permission To Use ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ After Suing Trump Over It

Neil Young granted Tim Walz permission to use “Rockin’ In The Free World” after he sued Donald Trump over his use of the song.

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At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last night (August 21), Walz formally accepted the vice presidential nomination. After the Minnesota governor’s speech, Young’s 1989 anthem, “Rockin’ In The Free World,” blared over the arena speakers.

As reported by CNN Reporter Kaitlan Collins said the song was one of Walz’s favorite songs and revealed that, according to a campaign official, Young had personally authorized the Harris-Walz campaign to use the anthem.

The song had previously been used by Trump during his first presidential announcement in 2015. Young did not grant the former president permission to use his song, leading the musician to send repeated cease-and-desist threats, though that did not appear to stop Trump as he continued to use the track.

In 2020, Young filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Trump over his use of the song. “The Campaign willfully ignored Plaintiff’s instructions not to broadcast the Songs and willfully continued to broadcast the Songs despite the lack of a license,” the complaint shared on Young’s website reads.

The campaign continued: “The Campaign does not currently have, and did not have at the time of the Tulsa rally, a license or permission from Plaintiff to play the two songs at any public political event.”

The complaint adds that Young is seeking “statutory damages in the maximum amount allowed for willful copyright infringement.”

The singer has previously shared several open letters on his website condemning the former president’s continued unauthorized use of his music.

“Imagine what it feels like to hear Rockin’ in the Free World after this president’s speech, as if it were his theme song,” Young wrote in a blog post. “I didn’t write it for that.”

In other news, Young & Crazy Horse recently announced that they will be returning to the stage following the unexpected cancellation of their tour.