[Archive 2010-05-25] Musician David Byrne sues Florida governor over campaign song

Historical archive — originally published 2010-05-25. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

David Byrne, the former lead singer of 1980s art punk band Talking Heads, is suing Florida governor Charlie Crist over the latter's use of the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere" in an election commercial. Byrne alleges that Crist made use of the song in a campaign commercial without the artist's permission, and that if permission had been asked Byrne would have declined it.

The lawsuit was filed early Monday afternoon in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa and has been assigned Case Number 8:10-CV1187-T26 (MAP). Byrne is represented by Lawrence Iser, the attorney who represented Jackson Browne when Browne successfully sued John McCain in a similar lawsuit in 2008.

The advertisement, which premiered on January 12, 2010 and has since been withdrawn from use, attacked politician Marco Rubio over reversals in Rubio's public positions. The video has been blocked on video hosting site YouTube "due to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group."

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