After Pittsburgh, Pharrell Demands Trump Never Play ‘Happy’ Again

A 2016 BMI contract obtained by NPR that is specific to political campaigns makes the situation plain, and offers artists a back door. In its “Music License for Political Entities or Organizations,” BMI inserted a notable provision: “… a specific work may be excluded from this license if notice is received from a BMI songwriter or publisher objecting to the use of their copyrighted work for the intended uses by [the political entity or organization licensing the music].”

BMI tells NPR the agreement has not changed substantively since 2016 and was not drafted in response to Trump’s campaign. A source confirmed to NPR that ASCAP offers a similar license specific to political campaigns, with similar language.

And then there’s Global Music Rights.

Global Music Rights is a relatively new performance rights group which was launched by infamous Eagles manager and power broker Irving Azoff in 2013. Broadly, Azoff’s strategy was to amass a small and very exclusive catalog of music — a catalog so desirable that the the company would basically be able to basically charge whatever it likes for licenses. And it did: Drake, John Lennon, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Ira Gershwin, Jon Bon Jovi and the principal members of Metallica are all within its catalog. In the short time since its founding, the company has become powerful enough to be criticized for monopolistic practices.

Guess who else is represented by Global Music Rights? The not-very-pleased-right-now Pharrell, whose lawyer tells NPR that Global Music Rights has “not granted a license” to Trump. And, by the sounds of it, never will.

This article was updated at 3:22 p.m. with more current song catalog numbers, as provided by ASCAP.

Article Appeared @https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662168950/after-pittburgh-pharrell-demands-trump-never-play-happy-again

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