Behind the music: When politicians use music to get their message across | Music | guardian.co.uk

 Behind the music: When politicians use music to get their message across | Music | guardian.co.uk

"Too much fun not to include,.....HSM"

Behind the music: When politicians use music to get their message across

Musicians tend to be left-leaning by nature, so when rightwing parties appropriate their work in campaigns without permission they head straight for the courts

Different tune ... Vera Lynn, Massive Attack's 3D and Don Henley from the Eagles. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/PA/Guardian

Last year, Behind the Music posed the question: why are British musicians so afraid of politics? The lack of political engagement by many artists could be down to apathy, but if you want to see a musician's true political colours, watch what happens when their music is used in political campaigns without their permission.

The success of the Eagles in the 70s is widely seen as the moment when California's Laurel Canyon scene went from political engagement to coke-fuelled excess. But when Republican politician Charles DeVore recently used the Eagles' Don Henley's Boys of Summer and All She Wants to Do Is Dance in campaign ads on YouTube, he was faced with a lawsuit. Henley, it turns out, is a committed Democrat and took serious offence when DeVore changed the lyrics to All She Wants To Do Is Tax.

DeVore says he will file a counterclaim citing first amendment protection for free speech. What he may not know is that Henley can use a clause in the copyright protection law regarding moral rights, which gives the artist the right to ban the use of their music if it seriously damages their reputation.

When John McCain was sued by Jackson Browne for using his song Running On Empty during his presidential campaign, the defendants also claimed they had the right to use it under the first amendment and fair use rule. However, lawyers regard the fair use argument in this case to be ridiculous. The two main reasons for fair use (when you can use copyrighted work without permission) are "non-commercial research and study" and "news reporting and criticism". I'm curious to hear how they're going to apply free speech to this issue in court.

In the UK, the BNP is using music as a way of getting their message across. Ninety-one year old Dame Vera Lynn was furious to hear that they used White Cliffs of Dover on an anti-immigration album. Unfortunately, as the UK's performer copyright only lasts for 50 years, she doesn't have a legal leg to stand on as it was recorded during the second world war. It's worth noting that there is an argument for term-extension.

The BNP also used Manic Street Preachers' If You Tolerate This ... in a misguided attempt to illustrate their video The Cesspit Called London (the original lyrics concern the international brigade who went to fight fascism in the Spanish civil war), only to be issued with cease and desist orders by the band's label.

As artists tend to be more left-leaning by nature, conservative and rightwing parties have had a hard time recruiting musicians to support their campaigns (the last US election being a prime example), and have resorted to using music without permission.

In 2000, William Hague was the target of Massive Attack's wrath after using Man Next Door at a conference. Jimmy Cliff was surprised to hear that David Cameron had used You Can Get It If You Really Want at the Conservative party conference in 2007 – especially as it featured in the violent Jamaican drug-dealing movie, The Harder They Come.

This week the Tories introduced a new tactic to lure musicians by announcing that they cared more about their concerns than Labour does, which is why they've recruited people from the music industry to formulate policy.

So who did they recruit? Billy Bragg? Thom Yorke? Someone from the not-for-profit collection agency PRS for Music? No, they enlisted the head of the biggest record label, Lucian Grainge of Universal, the head of the BPI and the MD of Classic FM. It may ensure that Cameron gets a seat at next year's Brits, but will this move ensure that struggling artists, musicians and songwriters can prosper under their leadership? What are the chances that these people will support the Featured Artists Coalition's fight for musicians to retain ownership of their work instead of record labels?

Maybe the Tories have their eye on some of the latest releases for the forthcoming election. How about Cameron walking onstage to the tune of La Roux's In for the Kill? Or would he go for Lady Gaga's Poker Face? I'm sure Green Day would come down on them like a ton of bricks if they used Know Your Enemy (though the irony surely wouldn't be lost on the band).

The Tories, like the Republicans, may think that it's worth dealing with a lawsuit, once the election is over. After all, music is a powerful tool.

Behind the music: When politicians use music to get their message across | Music | guardian.co.uk