Politicians have a history of pilfering popular music for use in their campaigns without first seeking permission from the artist. Among the victims are Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, and Talking Heads, and now Aussies Jinja Safari are the latest victims of this nefarious practice.
Running with the support of the country’s Communist Party, Chilean presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet looks to be keeping with the Socialists’ whole “collective ownership” thing, using Jinja Safari’s track Peter Pan in a new campaign ad without the band’s knowledge or permission.
“I just want to know if she is paying you for use of one of your more known songs, if she’s paying for your rights as musicians,” wrote a Chilean fan to the Sydney five-piece, along with a link to Bachelet’s latest campaign ad, much to the band and their management’s surprise.
“Sadly, it’s not uncommon for corporations to use a song that ‘sounds right’ for their brand or message without asking permission,” the band’s co-manager Blake Rayner told Junkee. “It’s happened several times in Jinja Safari’s short career…we pursued and won damages.”
“Use of any artistic element in a political campaign or message should be subject to the permission of the artist or copyright holder,” continued Rayner. “Jinja Safari’s dispute is not about the politics; it’s more about the basics.”
The band’s legal team are now reportedly preparing an infringement notice to be sent to Bachelet’s office. Readers can check out Bachelet’s campaign ad here (the song misuse begins near the 0:29 mark), and check out the clip for Peter Pan, below.
In a famous case of a politician jacking a band’s music, US President George W. Bush used the Foo Fighters hit Times Like These at a campaign rally, which so irked the band that frontman Dave Grohl began actively campaigning for Bush’s opponent, John Kerry.
(Via Junkee)
Watch: Jinja Safari – Peter Pan
