R.E.M., the band that has spent the last twenty years trying to be culturally relevant to compensate for not having been musically relevant since the early-nineties, has a bone to pick with FOX News. R.E.M. has taken issue with FOX News playing their song, “Losing My Religion” during coverage for the Democratic National Convention.
In case you had not heard, a fiasco occurred at the DNC as Democrats received heavy criticism for their dropping any reference of God from their platform and for their unwillingness to recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel. After much criticism, the Democrats voted on whether to include the phrases, and despite not receiving the 2/3 majority votes from delegates, just included it anyway.
FOX News played the song while covering the event, and R.E.M., who broke up in 2011 after 30 unmemorable years, threw a hissy fit. The band posted on their website,
“R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion’ was used in the Fox News coverage of the Democratic National Convention last night. R.E.M. today, through its music publisher, Warner-Tamerlane Music, demanded that Fox News cease and desist from continuing its unlicensed and unauthorized use of the song. Michael Stipe said, ‘We have little or no respect for their puff adder brand of reportage. Our music does not belong there.’”
R.E.M. has become the most recent liberal band that has taken issue with someone or some company using their songs. Jackson Browne, John Mellencamp, Heart and several other bands have come out in recent years and voiced their disapproval of their songs being used by public figures.
While I do not claim to be an expert on intellectual property rights, it seems that if R.E.M. did not want their song used by the public, than they should not have licensed it for broadcast. Apparently, FOX News feels similarly. They stated,
“FOX News Channel’s use of an R.E.M. song during Thursday’s edition of ‘Fox & Friends’ was in full accordance with its license agreements with all appropriate parties. Nevertheless, we’re always flattered to have this much attention for a song selection and we hope R.E.M. was able to satisfy their publicity fix.”
Bravo! I get so tired of the rehearsed, semi-apologetic statements from companies; I like it when they stand up against morons.
Considering that R.E.M. hasn’t shut up in 30 years about feminism, animal rights and encouraging ignoramuses to vote, I don’t think they have any right to take the moral high ground on this issue. They have sold their music to make money and simultaneously advocate for political causes; they can’t get bent out of shape because a song they released was used by someone with whom they disagree.
These self-righteous liberals are entertainers. They are not the soulful artists they posture as, and when they release a song to obtain fame and fortune, they cannot rightfully claim, “But only those that subscribe to our political bent can play it!” It doesn’t work that way.
