Guns N’ Roses and Prince’s Estate Declined Their Music Being Used in Melania Movie

A number of high-profile musicians and estates have publicly declined to let their work be featured in the controversial Melania documentary, creating a notable gap in the film’s planned soundtrack. The movie, which follows former First Lady Melania Trump in the weeks leading up to her husband’s second inauguration, has already been controversial for a range of reasons, and tensions over music rights have only added to the spotlight on how artists feel about being associated with the project. Producers had hoped to secure several iconic tracks, only to be rebuffed by the rights holders of some of the biggest names in music.

According to Consequence, the estate of Prince refused to allow any of the late artist’s music to be used in the film, even when negotiations had reportedly progressed far enough that deal was close. Prince’s representatives were said to have made it clear to producers that the musician “would never want his song associated with Donald Trump,” effectively blocking the inclusion entirely, despite the documentary’s focus on Melania rather than on politics. 

The rock band Guns N’ Roses also declined to participate, but for internal reasons. Producer Marc Beckman revealed that the group was divided politically, meaning that although some members were open to licensing a song, they were unable to secure unanimous consent from the entire band. That lack of consensus meant that no track could be included. 

These high-profile refusals came after other artists like Grace Jones similarly chose not to have their music associated with the documentary. Beckman described it as disappointing that artistic collaboration was impacted by political considerations, even though he maintains that Melania is not a political film.