Artists are entitled to dictate where their music is played, as they see fit, especially in relation to current political events. It can be interpreted by some that when an artist’s music is played at such events, they support those events’ agendas – and sometimes, that could not be further from the truth.
Music by Calvin Harris and Florence + The Machine was played at the Conservative Party Conference in the UK this past weekend, and neither artist was very happy about it. Calvin tweeted, “playing my song was not approved – I do not support nor condone happy songs being played at such a sad event.” The song played was “This Is What You Came For,” featuring Rihanna.
Florence echoed Calvin’s sentiment, tweeting, “Today’s use of ‘You’ve Got The Love’ at the Conservative party conference was not approved by us nor would it have been had they asked.” She continued, “If the Conservative party could refrain from using our music in future.”
Both songs were played as PM Theresa May made her entrance on the conference floor.
https://twitter.com/CalvinHarris/status/915682890393849856
https://twitter.com/CalvinHarris/status/915683621507178496
If the Conservative party could refrain from using our music in future. x
— Florence + the Machine (@florencemachine) October 4, 2017