If this goes to trial, we don’t want to miss a thing.
Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is demanding President Donald Trump stop playing the band’s songs at rallies and is accusing him of willful infringement of copyrighted songs, according to Variety.com.
The band’s 1993 hit “Livin’ on the Edge” was played before Trump’s Tuesday night rally in Charleston, West Virginia, and that put Tyler a little on edge himself.
Tyler, who co-wrote the song with band guitarist Joe Perry and Hollywood producer Mark Hudson, had his attorney, Dina LaPolt, send the “cease and desist” letter to the White House demanding “Livin’ On The Edge” not be played at campaign rallies.
LaPolt’s letter detailed the problem Tyler has with the Trump campaign’s use of the song:
“By using “Livin’ On The Edge” without our client’s permission, Mr. Trump is falsely implying that our client, once again, endorses his campaign and/or his presidency, as evidenced by actual confusion seen from the reactions of our client’s fans all over social media.”
The letter said the song’s use “is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person.”
This isn’t an out-of-the-blue gripe for Tyler. In October 2015, the singer ― who The Hill reported is a registered Republican ― asked Trump’s campaign not to use his music at political rallies.
“My intent was not to make a political statement, but to make one about the rights of my fellow music creators. But I’ve been singing this song for a while now,” he wrote in a HuffPost blog that year.
Other musical acts who’ve said they don’t want their music connected to Trump include R.E.M., Neil Young, Elton John and Twisted Sister.
Here is the letter Tyler’s lawyer sent to the White House:
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