Earlier this week, the White House shared a video clip showing ICE doing its usual arrests around the country. The video was captioned “Bye-Bye. POTUS has secured the borders unlike ever before.” The video used Ariana Grande’s 2024 single “Bye” in the audio track. The pop star was furious.
Ariana rebuked the White House for associating her music with what ICE stands for. The administration has now pulled the audio track from the video following her public outcry. This marks the umpteenth time Trump’s White House has locked horns with recording artists over the use of their materials.
Why is Ariana Grande Furious at the White House?
The White House did not consult Ariana Grande before using her song “Bye’ in their ICE promotional videos. But based on her reactions, the fallout was much less about permission and much more about the music usage. She publicly blasted the WH on social media, saying: “Please don’t use my music in relation to this barbaric, and heinous nonsense.”
She added: “F— ice.”
The White House immediately updated the media file and removed the copyrighted audio track. Then they also deleted Ariana Grande’s comment from their post.
Why Does the White House Use Artists’ Music Without Permission?
Licensing laws treat “political use” and “commercial use” differently. If a public venue has purchased blanket licenses from performing rights organizations, politicians at the venue don’t need to ask artists directly for permission to use their music.
On social media platforms, platform owners maintain built-in music libraries. Social media platforms typically have many deals with record labels, allowing anyone, including the government, to use the available music in their videos, but only for non-commercial purposes.
If Ariana Grande were to sue Trump and his administration for using her music, her only argument would be “false endorsement.” She would have to show that by using her music, the administration intended to falsely imply that she endorsed ICE. False endorsement is not always easy to prove.
History Repeats Itself
Since Trump’s second term began, many artists have found their music used without permission in pro-administration and ICE-related social media content. Singer Sabrina Carpenter recently lambasted the White House for using her music in their social media ICE videos, terming it as “evil and disgusting.”
The White House attempted a similar endorsement heist with British singer Jess Glynne. They used her track “Hold My Hand” in a White House propaganda promotional video. Glynne stated that she felt “sick” that her creative work would be used for division and hostility.
The Use of Music in Psychological Operations
The administration continues to need music and the express support of artists, but its approach is simply not bearing fruit. In October last year, Trump posted an AI-generated video of him flying a fighter jet that spewed effluent over protestors associated with the “No Kings” movement.
But he went on to add Kenny Loggin’s Danger Zone song to the video. The artist was infuriated. He issued a formal demand for the video’s removal, stating that his work cannot be used for political polarization.
Does the White House have any AI apps for Music Generation?
It appears no. In any case, the White House doesn’t appear to be using these artists’ songs just to fulfil their audio track needs. It appears to be a deliberate social media strategy to show association or endorsement by the famed artists. But as it stands now, they all say NO. Maybe the next administration will have better luck.
