In a new interview with NME, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been explaining how they dealt with unlicensed use of their music by the Trump administration.
The group were among the same wave of US alt-rockers in the early Naughties as The Strokes and the White Stripes. Though they were never as big as those names, they have maintained a following and have released eight albums over the last 25 years.
Anyway, back in the summer, they found that one of their version of the folk song God’s Gonna Cut You Down had been used by the US Federal Department in a social media recruitment video.
The band issued a quick cease and desist letter, writing: “It’s obvious that you don’t respect Copyright Law and Artist Rights any more than you respect Habeas Corpus and Due Process rights, not to mention the separation of Church and State per the US Constitution.
"For the record, we hereby order @dhsgov to cease and desist the use of our recording and demand that you immediately pull down your video.”
They also added: “Oh, and go f… yourselves.”
Speaking to the magazine, bassist Robert Levon Been explained why they did it: “You shouldn’t let (the government)constantly get away with whatever the fuck they want. It’s illegal.
"They are breaking the law constantly and using a lot of different artists’ property that shouldn’t be exploited. We were just acknowledging that it was crossing the line and it’s wrong.”
Levon Been then revealed that the band had received a “weird” reply that “sounded like an ex-girlfriend”.
“The administration sent this reply that sounded like an ex-girlfriend. It didn’t sound like a legal (reply) or anything official,” he said. “It was this really weird message like, ‘Don’t bother us with your complaints. You got attention and media from just being associated with us, and so you should be grateful.’ And this is from the homeland legal department!”
"The next response would’ve been to say, ‘We’ll see you in court then’, but platforms like Instagram and Facebook actually removed (the post containing the unauthorised song) promptly and acted more professionally than the actual government itself, which is bizarre.”
His takeaway from the experience is that it pays off to be bold. “What I wanted was for more bands and organisations to know that if you actually get through to the final boss stage, it’s just a complete joke. It’s just all smoke and mirrors. I knew that in theory, but actually seeing it from the horse’s mouth, it was bonkers.”
“It’s not as intimidating as what they want you to believe. That’s all I would like people to know. If bands get f***ed with or anything like this happens and they feel too scared to say anything, you shouldn’t. Take them, take them to the mat all the way.”
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