ABBA joins growing list of musicians asking Trump to stop using their music to campaign

The iconic Swedish pop group ABBA has joined a growing number of artists requesting that former U.S. President Donald Trump refrain from using their music at his campaign events.

ABBA's record label, Universal Music, issued a statement on behalf of the band, urging Trump to cease playing their songs and to remove any online videos that feature their music from his recent events.

"Together with the members of ABBA, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA's music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down," the statement from Universal Music read. The label emphasized that no permission or license had been granted for the use of ABBA's songs.

The request follows a report from the Swedish newspaper *Svenska Dagbladet*, which noted that several ABBA hits, including "The Winner Takes It All," "Money, Money, Money," and "Dancing Queen," were played at a Trump rally in Minnesota on July 27. Minnesota, known for its significant population of residents with Swedish heritage, was the backdrop for the event where the music was featured.

ABBA, whose name is an acronym of the first names of its members—Agnetha, Bjorn, Benni, and Anni-Frid—is one of Sweden's most famous cultural exports. The group dominated the disco and pop scene until their split in 1982.

The band's decision aligns with actions taken by numerous other musicians over the past three U.S. presidential campaigns. Artists including Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Foo Fighters, Guns'N'Roses, Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, R.E.M., Sinead O'Connor, Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty (or rather his surviving relatives), the Village People and The White Stripes., have all requested that the Trump campaign stop using their music.

While ABBA's band members have not commented directly on the matter, their spokesperson confirmed that they fully support the statement issued by their record label.