The National Rally attracted the wrath of a famous French singer by using one of his songs on Sunday during a Jordan Bardella meeting organized in Paris.
He doesn’t lose his temper. Singer Calogero said he was “scandalized” this Monday, June 3, on the social network Instagram. The object of his wrath: the use, without his authorization, by Jordan Bardella’s party of his song 1987, Sunday, during a meeting of the far-right party, one week before the European elections. “I was scandalized to learn yesterday […] that my song 1987 was broadcast at the end of the National Rally meeting at the Paris Dome,” Calogero said in his press release.
“At no time did I give any authorization to broadcast my music there,” assured the artist, also insisting on the fact that if any authorization had been requested from him by Jordan Bardella’s party, he would “never” have given it. For Calogero, his songs are simply “not made for the political framework” and belong above all “to the public and only to the public”. And the singer does not intend to stop there. “Paul École, author of the text 1987 and I deplore a serious violation of our moral rights since my work is associated with a political discourse”, he underlined, before warning that he reserved “the right to take any legal action this case”.
What the law says ?
If political parties often claim to have obtained the rights to broadcast music by paying Sacem, namely the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers, “under French law”, reports Pierre Lautier, a lawyer specializing in copyright interviewed by the AFP, including BFMTV one echoes, “an artist can argue that he did not intend to be associated with a political ideology.” If action before the court is therefore entirely possible for Calogero, the delays are often very long. An amicable settlement can also be considered, as can a formal notice so that this does not happen again.