Music and politics are linked quite often—whether it's by songs with explicit or implicit political messages, or by politicians' habit of using powerful songs for their campaigns. In the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, it happened with rapper Eminem and candidate Vivek Ramswami. We used ChatGPT to tell the story of the rapper's interference in the election campaign:
BMI, the company that manages the copyright to Marshall Mathers' songs, aka Eminem, sent a letter yesterday to the campaign headquarters of Ramswami, a 38-year-old businessman who is considered one of the most prominent candidates in the race despite his lack of political experience, informing him that the rapper opposes the candidate's use of his songs. Attorney Pamela Williams, who signed the letter, stressed that any further rendition of Eminem's works by Ramswami would be considered a breach of agreement and could lead to legal consequences.
The basis for this clash is Ramswami's rendition of Eminem's Oscar-winning hit "Lose Yourself" at an event in Iowa. Ramswami tried to show his 'coolness' by performing the rap hit – and videos documenting the event went viral, while unlike other candidates' attempts, the reactions to Vivek's performance were positive, and less embarrassed.
The issue of politicians' use of works of art in campaigns has become more complicated in recent years, and more and more artists are demanding that politicians not use their works. For example, Donald Trump faced opposition from creators over playing Queen's "We are the Champions", The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want", Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music", Pharrell Williams' "Happy", and Panic's "High Hopes"! at the Disco and several Neil Young songs.
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