Melania Trump and the Rolling Stones in the middle of a copyright war

Her husband is a regular at this. In just over a year, Donald Trump has attracted the wrath of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter. The biggest pop stars on the planet have almost all fallen on him. For what ? The American president repeatedly uses, and without any authorization, their songs, lyrics and compositions in political campaign videos. This questionable way of misappropriation could have rubbed off on his wife Melania who, in recent days, found herself at the heart of a controversy this time involving no less than the Rolling Stones.

In her documentary released at the end of January in cinemas, the wife of the American president used the song Gimme Shelter of the rock’n’roll group to give body and rhythm to his hagiographic story. Did she ask for permission? Yes, according to Rolling Stones producer Marc Beckman, who told Guardian at the start of the week that the group “had given his consent” to Melania Trump, specifying that Mick Jagger, the leader, would have been directly involved in the granting of this musical license. No, according to another Stones representative who spoke anonymously to Variety.

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Trailer for Melania (2026)

Who sold these rights?

This affair of copyright granted or misappropriated by the directors of Melania is all the more vague because another Stones collaborator, also anonymous, interviewed by The Guardianstated that the use of Gimme Shelter in the documentary “was granted exclusively between the rights holders, the company ABKCO, and the producers of Melaniabut that the group has nothing to do with it ».

The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter (1969)

The members of the Rolling Stones have not yet reacted. They apparently refuse to respond to requests from the American press. The Trump clan is equally silent. ABKCO may have sold them the rights to the song in question. As noted Varietyits founder Allen Klein – who also worked with the Beatles – took with him the rights to the Stones’ musical catalog recorded before the end of their collaboration in 1971. Released in 1969, Gimme Shelter therefore belongs to the label. Klein would be free to do what he wants with it.

Donald Trump and the Stones: a historic disenchantment

But ABKCO, the Stones’ former label, has reconciled with the English group in recent years. Their relationship no longer has anything to do with that of 50 years ago, when they separated in a stormy manner. They have since collaborated on album reissues. They also made several agreements to sell their music to certain film producers. The group itself said it in 2002: “We grant a lot of licenses for cinema. We receive a lot of requests, and we generally accept them. It’s a great deal. »

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In this context it is unlikely that ABKCO betrayed the trust of the Stones, especially when we know the aggressive history between the group and Donald Trump. Musicians criticized him for using their music during the 2020 presidential campaign, where he lost to Joe Biden. At that time, they worked with copyright companies to keep their catalog out of the public domain. The goal is to prevent Donald Trump from using their songs again without their consent. The process ultimately never came to fruition. For this new Trump affair, this time with Melania at the forefront, will the Stones want to dig up the hatchet again?