MGMT to Sue French President
A hilarious bit of MGMT news - France's conservative UMP party, led by President Nicolas Sarkozy, illegally used "Kids" in two online videos and at campaign events. And MGMT is suing their asses for compensation. From NME:
According to Prefix, ideological opposition to the conservative organization is also a motivating factor. This is additionally funny because the UMP is strongly in favor of copyright laws, and is currently pushing a law calling for tougher penalties for infractions.Sarkozy has admitted using the song at the UMP party's national congress, but claims the lack of permission was a mistake and offered the band one euro as a gesture, reports BBC News.
The duo rejected the offer and are now seeking compensation. Their lawyer, Isabelle Wekstein, said, "This offer is disrespectful of the rights of artists and authors. It is insulting. We are dealing with acts of counterfeiting, an infringement of intellectual property."
A fee of 53 Euros (£47) had initially been paid to gain use of the song, but Wekstein said that the sum was not enough to cover repeated plays of the song in the online videos.
If anyone can find these campaign videos online, we will post them. In the meantime here is a video of MGMT on French television, apparently explaining the meaning of Thanksgiving:
[via You Ain't No Picasso]
Prefix Mag: French Political Party Steals "Kids"
BBC: MGMT to sue Sarkozy for Music Use
NME: MGMT Suing Nicolas Sarkozy Over 'Kids'
Pitchfork: MGMT Grapple with the President of France
[Thanks to Sayre Sundberg '11 for sending this in like, a week ago]
