Prince estate, Grace Jones among Black artists who flatly refused their music being used in ‘Melania’ doc and soundtrack

Several notable artists did cotribue to the song’s soundtrack, including the estate of Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones.

First Lady Melania Trump’s controversial documentary “Melania” surprised at the box office in its opening week despite critics widely panning it.

However, during the making of the film, Marc Beckman, an advisor to Trump and one of the key figures in its production, revealed that, despite their efforts to clear music for use, several Black artists flatly denied them permission.

“There was a song that we wanted to use from Grace Jones; obviously, also a tremendous amount of respect for her,” he told Variety in a lengthy interview. “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.”

Jones was not the only one. A song Prince sold to the group Primary Wave was considered for inclusion on the film’s soundtrack but it was nixed.

“I think Prince sold the rights to Primary Wave,” Beckman began. “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.”

He added, “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.”

The film does feature works by Black artists, including Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson. Rock band Guns N’ Roses was split on whether their music should be included in the film and ultimately chose not to clear it.

Musicians have been widely vocal about the Trump Administration, and those tied to it, using their songs during rallies or in political ads. Earlier this week, the estate of Isaac Hayes settled a lawsuit with the Trump Administration over the use of “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

Previously, musicians such as Beyoncé, the Prince estate, the family of Tom Petty, and others have demanded that their music not be played at rallies or in political ads, with some even suing.