By Tony Bruce | Thursday, August 29, 2024 | 1 min read
ABBA has demanded that Donald Trump stop using their music after the former U.S. president played several of their songs and displayed footage of the group at a campaign rally.
During an event in St. Cloud, Minnesota—the U.S. state with the highest Swedish population—Trump’s campaign featured ABBA hits like “Money, Money, Money,” “The Winner Takes It All,” and “Dancing Queen,” according to the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The event also showed film footage of ABBA members on a large video screen at the hockey stadium, alongside messages urging supporters to donate.
Universal Music, ABBA’s record label, confirmed that they had not granted permission for the Trump campaign to use the band’s music or videos. The company demanded that the footage be “immediately taken down and removed.” A spokesperson stated, “Together with the members of ABBA, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA’s music/videos have been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately taken down and removed.”
They added: “Neither Universal Music Publishing AB nor Polar Music International AB has received any request, so no permission or license has been granted to Trump.”
One of the group’s members, Björn Ulvaeus, reportedly told the Swedish newswire TT via text message: “Universal, our record company, will make sure it’s taken down.”
Despite Trump’s belief that he is respected and feared worldwide, artists like ABBA and other top performers have challenged that perception. The outcome doesn’t look favorable for Trump, as more artists, both domestic and international, are urging his campaign to stop using their music at rallies.
