While some notable artists cleared their music for First Lady Melania Trump‘s ‘Melania‘ documentary and soundtrack, Grace Jones, Guns N’ Roses, and the Prince estate absolutely refused to do so!
While speaking with Variety, ‘Melania‘ producer Marc Beckman opened up about the “tricky politics” of licensing songs for President Donald Trump‘s wife’s documentary and soundtrack. In the documentary — which chronicles the First Lady’s life leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration — the audience can hear some recognizable tracks from some of the biggest musicians, both living and late.
For instance, the film — which premiered in theaters on January 30 — features the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” Michael Jackson‘s “Billie Jean,” and Aretha Franklin‘s rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Despite the willing participants and their estates, others weren’t so easily persuaded to license their music for the First Lady.
Guns N’ Roses, Grace Jones, And Prince Estate Block Melania Trump From Using Their Music In Documentary
For example, Rock band Guns N’ Roses were divided on whether they should include their music in the film. Ultimately, they chose not to clear it. Beckman told Variety:
“There was music that we tried to get, but sadly, there were politics to it. For example, the guys from Guns N’ Roses split down the middle politically. There was a beautiful song we wanted to use, and one of the guys — I don’t want to name, it’s not fair —said, ‘You got it. Go.’ And the other one was basically like, ‘There’s just no way.’ We needed everybody’s approval to get it in the film. So Guns N’ Roses was definitely a disappointment for us; we all have a lot of respect for Guns N’ Roses.”
Additionally, Jamaican singer, songwriter, model, and actress Grace Jones absolutely put her foot down on licensing her music for Melania Trump’s documentary. Beckman said:
“And then there was a song that we wanted to use from Grace Jones; obviously, also a tremendous amount of respect for her. She apparently couldn’t get over the political hurdle, notwithstanding the fact that the film is not a political film. So, that was disappointing, too. It’s disappointing when people put politics so far ahead, and that happened a little bit with the film, for sure.”
Furthermore, when it came to Prince, his estate blocked producers from licensing his music. The move came after Primary Wave, the company that owns his music rights, gave approval. Beckman said:
“There’s a reverse on this one too. I think Prince sold the rights to Primary Wave. And the Primary Wave guys were like, ‘Oh yeah, we’d be happy to go ahead and give you guys the rights to this Prince song.’ But in that instance, it’s my understanding that the deal was such that the estate now needs to approve what Primary Wave does with it.
Literally we were ready to go, and and this lawyer that manages the estate was like, ‘Prince would never want his song associated with Donald Trump.’ And we’re like, ‘But it’s not a Donald Trump film! He comes into the movie once in a while, but this is all about Melania. It’s not political.’ And that guy blocked it. It’s so ridiculous.”
Beckman continued to share:
“At some point, I would love to tell the full story. Some of the old artists that are my heroes said yes, and then we couldn’t get it done because of the rights holders. But it was shocking. Some of the artists you would never think would say yes jumped on it right away. I was like, ‘Wow, I love this person even more now.’
