The BBC has pulled Radiohead track 'There There' from its TV licence campaign, following complaints from the band's management that they didn't have the band's permission to use it. The ad, which promotes the use of direct debit payments for TV licences, will now be aired with different music.
A Parlophone (EMI) spokeswoman said: "We feel and Radiohead feel that the BBC have overstepped the mark. Therefore we are doing something about it - our legal department are on to it. Other people have asked to use the track and we have said no, and now they are saying we have let the BBC use it and we haven't. Radiohead are not interested in that kind of advertising, it's not something they would OK."
The BBC has a deal with the licensing bodies that it can use up to 30 seconds of copyright music on its trailers without getting specific permission from a band. A TV licensing spokesman told reporters: "We are confident the use of the music in the trail did not contravene any existing agreements or permissions of use, though we have made the decision to use alternative music for future airing of the trail, to reflect reported concerns from one of the band's managers."
However EMI and the band's management reckon an ad for TV Licensing is something very different than a basic trailer and that band's should have a veto on having their music associated with it.