Last week’s Republican National Convention didn’t just conclude with fireworks spelling out the word TRUMP beside the Washington Monument. It included two uses of the late Leonard Cohen’s most famous song “Hallelujah.” In a statement on the artist’s Facebook page on Friday, representatives from Cohen’s estate and Sony ATV Music Publishing said they are “exploring legal options” for the unauthorized use.
Michelle L. Rice, legal representative of Leonard Cohen’s estate, wrote “we are surprised and dismayed that the RNC would proceed knowing that the Cohen Estate had specifically declined the RNC’s use request, and their rather brazen attempt to politicize and exploit in such an egregious manner ‘Hallelujah’, one of the most important songs in the Cohen song catalogue.”
With an added flourish, she commented that had the RNC requested Cohen’s “You Want It Darker,” they may have reconsidered.
Brian J. Monaco of Sony/ATV stated that “on the eve of the finale of the convention, representatives from the Republican National Committee contacted us regarding obtaining permission for a live performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. We declined their request.”
Cohen’s estate now joins the estate of Tom Petty, Rihanna, Elton John, Adele, Guns N Roses, Pharrell, Queen, the estate of Prince, Aerosmith, Earth Wind and Fire, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young in making public their unhappiness with the Trump’s campaigns using their music. Many have filed cease and desist claims.
While there is gray area with licensing agreements, in the case of The Rolling Stones’s complaint about the repeated use of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at Trump rallies, BMI’s executive director of corporate communications Jodie Thomas said that the publishing group’s Political Entities or Organizations License “clearly states that a campaign cannot rely on a venue license to authorize its performance.”
Despite the declined request, “Hallelujah” made two appearances on Thursday night. One was Tori Kelly’s pre-recorded version from the animated film Sing, which played as part of the fireworks display. On Thursday evening Kelly tweeted (and then deleted) that “neither myself nor my team received a request.”
Then came opera singer Christopher Macchio, who incorporated the song into a medley of Schubert’s “Ave Maria” and Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.”
An added layer to all this is the fact that “Hallelujah,” should one listen to its lyrics of a “baffled king,” loneliness, and suggestions of kinky sex, hardly make it appropriate for a Republican pep rally.