Heavy metal legends Metallica have forced the the US government to withdraw a social media video that used their song ‘Enter Sandman’ without authorisation.
The Department of Defense sent out a post on X on Friday (11 July) that featured Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promoting the country’s military drone capabilities.
The original version of the video included the band’s classic 1991 track ‘Enter Sandman’.
However, it did not remain online for long, as Metallica promptly issued a copyright notice.
The Department of Defense subsequently withdrew the video, posting a version without ‘Enter Sandman’.
A Pentagon spokesperson said: “Representatives from X reached out to DoD regarding a video posted to our social media page and asked that the video be removed due to a copyright issue with the song ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica. The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page.”
This is far from the first time that the Trump administration has used artists’ work without authorisation.
There is an extensive list of musicians who have objected to Trump’s authorized use of their songs. These include ABBA, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Neil Young, R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, Woodkid and Beyoncé.
Sinead O'Connor’s estate previously issued Trump with cease-and-desist orders, while Isaac Hayes’ estate sued him for 134 counts of copywright infringement.
Céline Dion also condemned the use of her song from the Oscar-winning film Titanic, ‘My Heart Will Go On’, which was used at one of Trump’s rallies. Dion’s team questioned the song choice, writing: "And really, THAT song?”
Another band which added their name to the ever-growing list of artists who have sued Trump over the illegal use of their songs in campaign videos was The White Stripes. Last year, the rock band highlighted the “flagrant misappropriation” of their hit song ‘Seven Nation Army’. Jack White captioned a copy of the legal complaint in an Instagram post with: “This machine sues fascists.”
The most recent example, prior to Metallica, was celebrated US rock band Semisonic, who pushed back at the White House in March for using their Grammy-nominated hit song ‘Closing Time’ over a social media post that shows a shackled deportee.
The White House added the 1998 song in a post of a man with his wrists handcuffed to his waist as he is patted down at an airport. The video was captioned with the song’s lyrics: “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”
US Customs and Border Protection retweeted the White House's post on X with the caption “It's closing time. We are making America safe again.”
The band responded by posting on X: “We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way. And no, they didn’t ask. The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely.”
