Rolling Stones get no satisfaction from Trump on song ban

MUSICAL GREATS: Mick Jagger, left, and Keith Richards. (AP)

WASHINGTON: It seems Donald Trump believes you can always get what you want. The US Republican presumptive presidential nominee appears to have dismissed a demand by the The Rolling Stones that he stop using the band’s songs during his campaign events.
“You know, we use so many songs,” Trump told CNBC. “We have the rights to use them. I always buy the rights.”
Trump has frequently used hits by The Rolling Stones to fire up supporters at campaign events, but the band have joined a growing number of musicians who have expressed anger at his use of their music.
“The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately,” the legendary rock group said in a statement on Wednesday. But Trump doubled down on The Rolling Stones’ music as he wrapped up a rally in Charleston, West Virginia on Thursday, his first since dispatching his last Republican presidential rivals.
He walked off stage to John Denver’s “Almost Heaven” blaring from the public address system, which was followed up by The Rolling Stones hits “Start Me Up” and “You Can’t Always Get What you Want.”
The Trump campaign has honored previous requests to stop using music at its rallies.
Everlast last month demanded Trump stop playing “Jump Around” by the rapper’s former band House of Pain, while Neil Young, R.E.M. and Adele have also spoken out.
Political campaigns do not typically need musicians’ express permission to use their songs during rallies as long as they obtain “blanket licenses” from licensing associations. However, performers usually can ask to have certain songs excluded.