House Republican Whip Eric Cantor’s office isn’t having much luck with Web videos. First, his press secretary sent out a profanity-filled clip as a response to a labor union-sponsored ad criticizing Cantor and other House Republicans for "Just saying no" to the stimulus bill. Then, after the stimulus vote, the office of the only Jewish Republican in the House sent out a video celebrating that the unanimous Republican "no" vote demonstrated that the "House GOP is back." The problem was the video used Aerosmith’s recording of "Back in the Saddle," and the band didn’t like that. As Talking Points Memo reports:
Cantor’s clip has been pulled from YouTube after a copyright infringement claim made by Stage Three Music, which owns the rights to "Back in the Saddle."
The GOP’s use of the tune "was something we, as the publishers, didn’t approve and would not have approved without going to the writers," Connie Ashton, director of copyright and licensing at Stage Three, told me. "Aerosmith did not approve of its use and also wanted to have it taken down," she added.
Perhaps instead of using Aerosmith, Cantor’s office can use the much less rocking, and much more conservative, "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry.
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