Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Trump Over “Livin’ on the Edge”

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler has sent yet another cease-and-desist letter to President Donald Trump, this time for use of the band’s 1993 hit “Livin’ on the Edge” without the songwriter’s written consent.

Tyler’s legal team sent the request to Trump following the use of the song at a rally held at West Virginia’s Charleston Civic Center on Tuesday night. The president spoke about topics such as immigration, trade and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation at the event.

The letter, obtained by Variety, cited Section 43 of the Lanham Act in making the argument that “without our client’s permission, Mr. Trump is falsely implying that our client, once again, endorses his campaign and/or his presidency, as evidenced by actual confusion seen from the reactions of our client’s fans all over social media.”

This is not the first time that Tyler has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump. In 2015, Tyler requested the then-candidate stop using the band’s 1973 release “Dream On” on the campaign trail, citing similar reasoning. After the fight escalated, BMI pulled the performance rights to the track. Though “Livin’ on the Edge” is administered by ASCAP and therefore there is no guarantee that this battle will yield similar results, Tyler’s legal team noted that the previous request is still significant.

“What makes this violation even more egregious is that Mr. Trump’s use of our client’s music was previously shut down, not once, but two times, during his campaign for presidency in 2015,” said Tyler’s legal team in the letter. “Due to your receipt of the Previous Letters, such conduct is clearly willful, subjecting Mr. Trump to the maximum penalty under the law.”

Tyler sent the letter—as one of the songwriters listed for the track—and not Aerosmith as a whole. The band is set to begin a Las Vegas residency in 2019.

Enjoy a 1994 Aerosmith show from the Paste archives below.