With the 2024 election looming, Larry Iser recently sat down with ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ host Tracy Smith to talk about the role music plays in political campaigns, and what happens when an artist doesn’t want their music used – an issue that has become increasingly common in today’s polarized times.
Drawing upon his experience successfully representing musician Jackson Browne in a lawsuit against John McCain’s 2008 campaign for the use of Browne’s song “Running on Empty” without his consent, Larry explains that there are significant legal repercussions to a campaign continuing to use an artist’s intellectual property after being told not to.
“If they’ve been told not to use it, but then they continue to use it, then that’s actually copyright infringement,” Larry shares. “And it’s actionable. It’s actionable in Federal Court. So, you can sue.”
“So, if you are a political candidate, those candidates need to respect the Constitutional right of a musician or a songwriter to just say no to the use of their song in a political campaign,” Larry adds.
Watch “Harmony vs. discord: Music in political campaigns” via CBS
