In a recent chat with the On The Road To Rock podcast with Clint Switzer, John Cooper shared why he’s okay with politicians using Skillet’s music at their rallies.
“This is my personal opinion, and this could change. I don’t want somebody later to say, ‘Well, you said blah blah blah.’ My personal opinion at today, I don’t care who plays my song at their political rally, because I believe in America over party,” the singer said.
Cooper continued, “I believe in the foundations of this country. And plus, we have this thing called social media, and let’s just say, hypothetically, let’s say that you’re running for president, and you’re playing my song, and let’s just say that I don’t like your platform.”
“I can always go on social media and say, ‘Hey, I wanna make it clear, this dude may be using my song, and I’m happy for him to use it. It doesn’t mean that I’m supporting his presidency, but I love America.’ You can do that,” the rocker made his stance clear. “There’s a lot of ways you can go around it. Now, I do think there’s a difference.”
He also added, “Let’s just say that you then wanted to use my song on one of your paid advertisements on a commercial. Now we’re getting into something. But if you’re playing my song at a political rally and you’re walking out and my song’s playing, I go, hey, you know what? Go America. It’s the best country in the world, and we can disagree on some things.”
Before the 2020 election, artists like Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Phil Collins, and others asked Trump to stop using their music. This year, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, and Beyoncé also told Trump not to use their songs.
Last month, Trump played a Foo Fighters song at a rally without their permission. The band made it clear they didn’t approve of this and will donate any royalties from this use to another campaign.
Recently, Trump also used Jack White’s music without permission. White shared a screen recording showing Trump walking to a plane with The White Stripes’ song ‘Seven Nation Army’ playing in the background.
“Oh… Don’t even think about using my music you fascists,” White wrote in his Instagram post. “Lawsuit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin. And as long as I’m here, a double f*ck you DonOLD for insulting our nation’s veterans at Arlington you scum. You should lose every military family’s vote immediately from that if ANYTHING makes sense anymore.”
Dion’s team also rejected Trump’s use of her song ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at a rally. On August 10, they released a statement saying the song and video were used without permission at a Trump rally in Montana.