Culture

Jackson Browne, GOP Settle Lawsuit Over McCain Campaign Music Use

by Jarrett Martineau | July 21, 2009 at 09:41 am

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Singer Jackson Browne didn't take it lightly when he discovered that John McCain had been using his song "Running on Empty" as part of a McCain campaign ad to mock Barack Obama.

So Browne filed a lawsuit against McCain and the Republican National Committee over the use of the song.

Tuesday, the GOP settled the lawsuit with Browne by agreeing not to use music in Republican nominees' campaigns without getting prior approval.

But Jackson Browne wasn't the only musician whose music was used without their permission — the Foo Fighters, Heart, John Mellencamp, and Sam Moore all had songs appropriated by the GOP for political purposes.

Hopefully, this verdict will prevent politicians from using music unless they've been given specific consent by the artists in question.

The settlement announced Tuesday includes a pledge by the GOP not to use any musicians' work without proper permission in future campaigns, a statement that Browne said he hoped would benefit other artists.

Browne sued McCain and the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party last year over use of "Running on Empty" in a Web ad mocking Democrat Barack Obama's proposed energy policies.