© 2012 Ami Patel (student contributor)
If the beginning of endless commercials didn’t give it away, it’s that time again – presidential campaign season. If there is one thing history has shown us, it’s that campaigns shouldn’t use an artist’s song without permission. Then again, there are many lessons that candidates fail to learn on the campaign trail.
The most recent of these cases involves Mitt Romney, who was recently sent a cease and desist letter for using the Silversun Pickups song “Panic Switch” during his campaign. He should have learned his lesson after numerous other presidential candidates used music without authorization from an artist and sparked a controversy in the process.
History is littered with candidates who used an artist’s song for campaign purposes. Continue reading “The Politics of Copyright and Music on the Campaign Trail”