Trump
Is the music business, traditionally an arbiter of cool, out of touch with U.S. consumers? It’s a tough question to ask — and a tough time to ask it. But if you compare the results of the presidential election with the politics of artists and executives, it’s hard not to.
The dominant mood among people I know is shock at the scale of Donald Trump’s victory — most expected a race so close that ballot-counting would continue all week — and an unsettling feeling that the U.S. is not the country we thought it was. What happened and why will be discussed for years. There’s also a more immediate question: Why didn’t more people see this coming?
Part of the reason is that this still seems so weird — I’m old enough to remember when talking about a professional golfer’s private parts would have been disqualifying in politics, let alone the Republican party. But part of it is that, unintentionally, many people in the media business now live in a bit of a bubble. I’m one of them: I live in Berlin and spend most of my time in the U.S. in or near New York, and I read The New York Times and The New Yorker. When it comes to music, none of my favorite artists supported Trump, and one, Bruce Springsteen, actively campaigned against him. Some of the biggest musicians in the world also supported Kamala Harris — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter — as did most music executives. Many of them must share my surprise.
Trending on Billboard
Are they — are we — too detached from the mainstream?
A significant number of Trump supporters are right-wing racists — certainly enough to make one worry. But it’s hard to make the case that Trump supporters are extremists if they account for more than half the vote. By definition, they’re mainstream. Worryingly, the Democrats don’t seem to know how to talk to them in a way that addresses their concerns. Calling them deplorables didn’t work, and making the case that Trump would be a disaster for democracy didn’t, either. (Democracy means that people vote for their leaders — it doesn’t mean that they vote for the leaders you want.) The Democrats focus more on what people can do for their country at a time voters seem more interested in what their country can do for them. Ideas are important, but many people seem more focused on the affordability of groceries.
For whatever reason, it’s now clear that there are more Trump voters than many people, including musicians and music executives, thought. They are also younger and more diverse than people realized. Many of them must listen to pop music. But is the music business listening to them? The idea that it’s controversial just to endorse Trump, without echoing any of his uglier rhetoric, means turning one’s back on more than half of American voters. That’s not how mass marketing works.
The challenge Trump presents to American democracy is far more important than selling music, of course. And I suspect I will get a few emails about how crazy it is to suggest that anyone market music to people who think immigrants are eating cats. But reaching different kinds of people with different kinds of art is what the music business does.
It’s also what politics is supposed to do. Both the music business and politics need to do better at reaching large, diverse audiences. That often means connecting with existing fans, but it has to also mean reaching out to new ones. Often, people simply won’t buy what they’re being sold, whether it’s a new album or a new candidate. But it’s important to have those conversations — both for those of us who want to help elect a new president in four years and those of us who want to argue that this one is going to do a great job.
More and more, politics seems stuck in a loop, in which ideas are marketed to, and cheered, by those who have already decided on them. In music, that’s known as a superfan strategy, and it’s very important. But building one requires reaching new people to turn into fans, or supporters, in the first place.
When Lee Greenwood released “God Bless The USA” in the spring of 1984, “it was not a massive hit,” the 82-year-old country music icon tells Billboard.
The song peaked at No. 7 in July 1984 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, but it has returned to the charts several times over the decades, including over Fourth of July weekend 2020, the first year of the pandemic — when it hit No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart.
The anthem’s enduring appeal has led to it being played in the wake of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks and the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. It has been covered by Beyoncé, Dolly Parton, and on Friday (Nov. 1), Drew Jacobs released a rock version. And, of course, it is consistently played at political events, including every Republican National Convention since 1988 — Greenwood sang it live at the last one in July — and now as the walk-on music for former President Trump.
Trending on Billboard
“To be honest, having President Trump use ‘USA’ as the song he walks out to every single place he goes is a dream come true for any artist,” says Greenwood, who adds he wrote the song for all Americans. “Millions of people hear my song on a weekly basis all because President Trump uses it.”
So what is that worth? Billboard spoke with Greenwood and ran the numbers to estimate how much he stands to gain from the Trump bump.
STREAMING
Greenwood says he owns the writer’s and publishing rights to “God Bless The USA,” and that peermusic administers the publishing and synch licensing for it and other songs in his catalog.
Greenwood says he has never charged for the use ‘USA’ at rallies by the former president, whom he knows from his wife Kim Greenwood’s work with the Miss Universe Organization. He says that he did charge the Ronald Reagan campaign $1 to use the song in 1988, but “just because they wanted to have ‘paper on the deal.’
“I don’t look at money as the driver for my music,” he adds.
That said, “God Bless The USA” has earned Greenwood a nice bit of coin this year. The song enjoyed a noticeable increase in consumption, especially in the immediate weeks following Greenwood’s performance at the Republican National Convention.
In the 16 weeks since the RNC, “USA” has averaged over 4,100 song equivalents in the United States, according to Luminate. That’s an increase over the roughly 3,000 U.S. song equivalents it averaged in the 27 weeks of 2024 that preceded the convention.
That post-convention total includes an average of 568,000 U.S. primarily on-demand audio streams compared to 468,000 in the weeks leading up to the convention.
Compared to Greenwood’s “USA”, Sam & Dave’s “Hold On I’m Coming” has seen a smaller average bump. That song is currently the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed in August by the estate of Isaac Hayes, who co-wrote the song. The complaint alleges that the song has been used multiple times during rallies without authorization.
“Hold On I’m Coming” averaged over 5,200 song equivalents in the U.S. since the RNC, just a smidge over the 5,000 U.S. song equivalents it averaged in the 27 weeks before the convention.
Looking at U.S. streaming and download revenue for the songs, the master recording rights for “Hold On” generated more revenue overall than “USA” after the convention — an average of $4,613.81 per week, compared to an equivalent $3,337.24.
However, the bump the songs’ master recording rights netted was bigger for “USA” than “Hold On.” Greenwood’s signature song’s master recording rights generated $744 more per week on average since the convention, compared to $148 for “Hold On.”
That adds up to an estimated Trump bump of an additional nearly $12,000 from the song’s master recordings over the past 16 weeks. These calculations are for label revenue, and Greenwood’s share of that figure would depend on his contract, details of which are not known.
On the publishing side, Greenwood song’s earned an average of about $675 a week from U.S. streams and downloads in the 27 weeks leading up to the convention and $845 a week after. That means the song produced an average of $3,267 a week — master recordings and publishing combined — leading up to the convention and $4,182 a week after the convention.
Billboard estimates Greenwood’s U.S. master recording catalog revenues, not including publishing, brought in $219,000 for his label so far this year compared to almost $184,000 in 2023 — a Trump bump of approximately $35,000 year to date.
THE TRUMP… SLUMP?
Not all songs used at Trump events enjoyed the same post-rally glow. The Foo Fighters‘ “My Hero” was played to introduce Robert Kennedy Jr. at an August rally for the former president in Arizona without permission, according to the band. At the time, a spokesperson for the Foo Fighters said any royalties gained from post-rally plays of the song would be donated to Trump’s challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. (A spokesperson for the band did not respond to a request for comment for this story.)
Since “My Hero” was played at the rally, it has declined in popularity, according to data from Luminate. Prior to the convention, the song’s U.S. streams and downloads averaged almost $10,100 in master recording revenue a week. But after the band denounced the song’s use by the Trump campaign, the audio stream counts average weekly plays fell by almost 200,000 from 1.668 million to 1.488 million. Consequently, revenue that had averaged nearly $10,100 a week fell to just below $9,200 a week, a weekly decline of approximately $900.
Puerto Rican reggaetón stars Anuel AA and Justin Quiles took the stage to support Donald Trump during a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Friday night (Aug. 30). Both reggaetón stars were called to the podium by Trump, who introduced them as “two amazing Puerto Rican musical legends,” and then added: “Every Puerto Rican is going to vote for Trump.”
Wearing Make America Great Again red baseball caps, Quiles and Anuel walked up to the podium and firmly shook Trump’s hand before Anuel took the mic and introduced himself to a crowd that clearly was not familiar with the two Latin artists and initially was subdued in its cheering.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for having us here,” said Anuel. “For me, it’s a real blessing to be here. I’m from Puerto Rico. Since Trump hasn’t been around, it’s not a secret, we’ve been going through a lot as a country. Biden always promised, promised. A lot of politicians promised through the years. All of us know … the best president the world has seen, this country has ever seen, his name is President Trump. So, all my Puerto Ricans, let’s stay united. Let’s vote for Trump. I personally spoke with him, he wants to help Puerto Rico grow and succeed as a country. He wants to keep helping Latinos in the U.S. Let’s keep doing things the right way and let’s make America great again,” said Anuel, this time to louder cheering.
Trending on Billboard
Then Quiles took the podium and added, reading from a sheet of paper: “I’ll also say a few words. Mr. President, I’m beyond honored. Mr. President, above all, I like you because, I’ve always said this, you’re not a puppet. I back you because I feel you’re the most honest president we ever had. That’s true!,” Quiles said, looking up at the now more energized crowd as Trump smiled behind him. “Saying things how they are, not what you think people want to hear, and that’s very important. A lot of Latinos, we stand strong next to President Trump. Thank you for sharing back there how important building Puerto Rico up again is, and not just Puerto Rico — let’s make America great again!”
Quiles and Anuel then shook Trump’s hand again and walked out to cheers, as Trump reclaimed the podium and said, “Wow, that’s great.”
Latin artists have been largely muted during the U.S. presidential campaign, and no major Latin artist had shown up at any rally until Friday night. Anuel and Quiles’ endorsement of Trump is the most prominent endorsement of the Republican candidate so far. Prior to the rally, Anuel and Quiles both posted videos to their respective Instagram stories of Trump’s campaign plane. Quiles also posted a photo of a white baseball cap emblazoned with the words “Make Puerto Rico great again.”
Watch Anuel and Quiles’ speeches at the rally below:
[embedded content]
As we approach the presidential election, Lil Pump will be voicing his support for Donald Trump in song. The “Gucci Gang” rapper took to X on Tuesday (Aug. 13) to reveal that he will no longer be performing a diss track aimed at both President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris during Trump’s next rally, […]
Country star Jason Aldean turned up the political heat at his recent concert in Nashville on July 13, dedicating his controversial hit “Try That in a Small Town” to former president Donald Trump.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The singer, who has long been a vocal Trump supporter, took his admiration to new heights during the performance.
In a TikTok video shared by user @susanelizabethphoto, the “Dirt Road Anthem” singer is heard saying, “What happened in Pittsburgh today with our former president, Mr. Trump, you guys know about this, right?
Trending on Billboard
“President Trump’s a friend of mine so I want to send this next song out to him. We all know what’s going to happen come November, so it’s all good.” He continued, “Just goes to show you there’s a lot of bullshit in the world, and that’s kind of what this song right here was about, so this one goes out to the pres.”
Aldean also shared his support via Instagram, “This is what a warrior looks like! This is MY guy,” sharing the famous photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in defiance.
“Donald Trump, we are thinking about you and praying for you and your family. God has a bigger plan for you, my friend, and I think we all know what that is by now.” He also extended his condolences to the families of the victims affected by the incident, calling it a “cowardly act.”
The dedication aligns with Aldean’s ongoing support for Trump. He and his wife Brittany have been fixtures at Trump events and recently promoted merchandise supporting Trump’s campaign.
Aldean wasn’t the only musician to rally behind Trump following the apparent assassination attempt. Kid Rock posted a fiery video on social media, declaring, “You f— with Trump, you f— with me,” and shared a link to a GoFundMe page for the victims of the shooting, which has raised over $2 million.
“Try That in a Small Town” has been at the center of heated debate since its release, with critics arguing the lyrics promote vigilantism and contain racial undertones.
Aldean has consistently defended the song, maintaining it celebrates small-town community values.
The controversy surrounding the track, however, has not hindered its success; the song rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Aldean’s first leader on the chart. It generated major buzz after CMT pulled its video after some labelled it as pro-gun, pro-violence and akin to a “modern lynching song”.
“Try That in a Small Town” also topped the Digital Song Sales chart and vaulted up the Streaming Songs chart, and topped Google’s 2023 Trending Musicians list, with “Try That in a Small Town” leading song searches.
Watch Jason Aldean dedicate “Try That in a Small Town” to Donald Trump in Nashville below.
Facing a sweeping racketeering case in Atlanta, former President Donald Trump has hired attorney Steven Sadow, a veteran Georgia criminal defense attorney who just represented Gunna in the high-profile criminal case against Young Thug and other rappers.
Sadow, who has also represented Rick Ross, T.I. and Usher in the past, filed legal papers Thursday morning (Aug. 24) in Fulton County Court stating that he was “lead counsel of record for Donald John Trump.” When reached by Billboard, Sadow confirmed that had been hired to represent the former president.
“The President should never have been indicted,” says Sadow. “He is innocent of all the charges brought against him. We look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open-minded jury finding the President not guilty. Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the President have no place in our justice system.”
Trump, who is expected to surrender to prosecutors on Thursday, is facing 13 felony counts as part of a massive racketeering case against 19 defendants accused of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Fulton County DA Fani Willis filed the charges under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a state-level version of the federal RICO law used to prosecute drug cartels and Mafia families.
That’s the same RICO statute that the same Fulton County prosecutor used in May 2022 to indict Young Thug, Gunna and dozens of others over their alleged involvement in a violent Atlanta street gang. The case claims that their “YSL” is not really a record label called “Young Stoner Life,” but a criminal enterprise called “Young Slime Life” that committed murders, carjackings, armed robberies, drug dealing and other crimes.
Represented by Sadow, Gunna pleaded guilty in December to exit that case by taking a so-called Alford plea — a maneuver that allows a defendant to enter a formal admission of guilt while still maintaining their innocence.
At the time, Gunna insisted that the deal did not involve cooperation with prosecutors. But when he entered his plea, Gunna admitted in court that YSL was both “a music label and a gang,” and that he had “personal knowledge that members or associates of YSL have committed crimes in furtherance of the gang.”
Young Thug and many others are still facing those charges. A trial technically kicked off earlier this year but has faced long delays in selecting a jury to hear the case and has not substantively begun yet. Young Thug has repeatedly been denied pre-trial release on bond.
Sadow will take over representing Trump from Drew Findling, another Atlanta lawyer with an extensive history representing rappers in criminal matters, including Gucci Mane, the members of Migos and Cardi B in her recent microphone-throwing incident in Las Vegas.
Though Findling has not formally departed the case yet, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Billboard that he will no longer be retained by the former president. Findling himself did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
Trump is expected to surrender Thursday evening at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, though he’ll only be there briefly before he is released on a negotiated bond. While some of the defendants in the YSL case are being held in the same building, Young Thug is detained in neighboring Cobb County Jail.
-
Pages