The Tragically Hip said Monday afternoon it has confirmed that the venue hosting a Conservative Party event this past weekend had the right to broadcast its music.
“It is (and has always been) our expectation that brands, political parties, or public figures wishing to use our music for a campaign first seek our approval,” read a statement from the band. “When we began to see posts and tweets from the event this weekend, the specifics were unclear.
“It has now been confirmed that Saturday’s event took place in a venue licensed by SOCAN, which means the venue pays a fee to ensure artists and musicians are compensated appropriately when music is played on site. As such, specific permissions were not required in this case. We did not have the full details in our earlier posts – and now consider this matter resolved.”
MORE: The Tragically Hip Slams Conservative Party's Use Of Song
As first reported here on Sunday, The Hip’s guitarist Paul Langlois tweeted that it was “highly offensive” that their song “Fifty Mission Cap” was played at Saturday’s meet-and-greet with Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre at the Grand Olympia Hospitality and Convention Centre in Stoney Creek, Ont.
“We certainly did not know this,” Langlois, one of The Hip’s guitarists, replied. “Highly offensive if true (we’ll wait to make sure and potentially confirm this) and if so, this will be stopped.”
In response to some criticism on social media from conservatives, Langlois later clarified: "We have always been highly offended by anybody who doesn’t ask for our permission to use our music for a brand, a political party, or a public figure of any sort. It’s just common courtesy to ask, and it applies to anyone and everyone."