--- title: Donald Trump: Rolling Stones Ask Him to Stop Using Music description: The Rolling Stones have asked Donald Trump to stop using their music at his campaign events. canonical: https://time.com/4318122/donald-trump-rolling-stones-music-playlist-rally/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-04T17:29:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:12.131Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rolling Stones Ask Trump to Stop Using Their Music og:description: He's played "Brown Sugar" and "Sympathy for the Devil" at campaign events. og:url: https://time.com/4318122/donald-trump-rolling-stones-music-playlist-rally/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e7e221298586fec/698891e0cd1bbab5fd7008f8/donald-trump-rolling-stones.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump speaks to supporters and the media at Trump Tower in Manhattan following his victory in the Indiana primary on May 03, 2016 in New York, New York. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rolling Stones Ask Trump to Stop Using Their Music twitter:description: He's played "Brown Sugar" and "Sympathy for the Devil" at campaign events. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e7e221298586fec/698891e0cd1bbab5fd7008f8/donald-trump-rolling-stones.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rolling Stones Ask Donald Trump to Stop Using Their Music > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith May 4, 2016 5:29 PM UTC  Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump speaks to supporters and the media at Trump Tower in Manhattan following his victory in the Indiana primary on May 03, 2016 in New York, New York. Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump speaks to supporters and the media at Trump Tower in Manhattan following his victory in the Indiana primary on May 03, 2016 in New York, New York. Spencer Platt—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith May 4, 2016 5:29 PM UTC **Correction appended, May 4** As Donald Trump sealed up the Republican nomination with a victory speech at the Trump Tower Tuesday night, the [music as he exited the stage](http://5/the-day-the-republican-party-died/481176/) sent a message about his general election campaign: “Start Me Up.” The Rolling Stones, who wrote the song, would prefer that he stop. “The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately,” a spokesperson for the legendary British band told TIME Wednesday. Trump has been known to [play at least two other songs](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/10/rolling-stones-say-trump-never-asked-to-use-their-songs.html) by the Rolling Stones at his rallies: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Brown Sugar.” A campaign volunteer [told the _New Yorker_ in February](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/01/the-duel-faceoff-ryan-lizza) that Trump personally curated the playlist, which also includes Elton John and music from “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” At the time, a band spokeswoman said Trump [did not ask for permission](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rolling-stones-say-trump-has-no-permission-to-use-songs-at-rallies%5Fus%5F56bc987fe4b0b40245c56da5) to use the songs. **Correction:** The original version of this story incorrectly identified the Rolling Stones song that played as Trump left the stage. 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