Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

Venue hosting Pierre Poilievre licensed to play band's music: The Tragically Hip

Paul Langlois and Rob Baker accept the award for The Tragically Hip winning the award for Group of the Year at the Juno awards show, April 2, 2017, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Paul Langlois and Rob Baker accept the award for The Tragically Hip winning the award for Group of the Year at the Juno awards show, April 2, 2017, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Share

The Tragically Hip has responded to an online dispute over the use of its music, saying a venue that recently hosted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has a music licence and did not need "specific permissions" to play one of the band's songs.

The latest development comes after a Twitter user asked the band on Saturday whether it knew Poilievre had used the band's music at an event in the Stoney Creek community of Hamilton, Ont.

On Monday, the band saying, "It is (and has always been) our expectation that brands, political parties, or public figures wishing to use our music for a campaign first seek our approval. When we began to see posts and tweets from the event this weekend, the specifics were unclear.

"It has now been confirmed that Saturday's event took place in a venue licensed by SOCAN, which means the venue pays a fee to ensure artists and musicians are compensated appropriately when music is played on site.

"As such, specific permissions were not required in this case. We did not have the full details in our earlier posts — and now consider this matter resolved."

SOCAN or the licenses businesses and organizations to use an artist's music for a fee, which are then provided to the musicians as royalties.

Hip guitarist Paul Langlois had about the use of the band’s music saying, "We certainly did not know this — highly offensive if true (we'll wait to make sure and potentially confirm this) and if so, this will be stopped."

On Sunday, Langlois saying, "I hate to have to clarify this but here goes: We have always been highly offended by anybody who doesn't ask for our permission to use our music for a brand, a political party, or a public figure of any sort. It's just common courtesy to ask, and it applies to anyone and everyone."

Musicians have called out politicians before for allegedly using music without the artist's permission.

Randy Bachman accused then-prime minister Stephen Harper of playing the Bachman-Turner Overdrive song "Takin' Care of Business" in 2014. Bachman to say the venue that played the song was licensed by SOCAN.

Multiple artists have previously urged former U.S. president Donald Trump to stop playing their music at his rallies, including Neil Young who went so far as to sue in 2020. Young later .

With files from The Associated Press and Reuters

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected