
The U.S. Division of Protection has taken down and reissued a promotional video on army drone developments after Metallica raised a copyright criticism over the unauthorized use in their track Input Sandman.
The unique video, posted on X (previously Twitter) on July 10, options Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth selling the Trump management’s contemporary push to increase the country’s drone features. In it, a drone delivers a memo to Hegseth, who indicators the report titled “Unleashing U.S. Army Drone Dominance.” Talking immediately to the digital camera, Hegseth pronounces: “That is the longer term. We’re within the combat. We’re within the combat to win it. And we’re by no means gonna backtrack.”
Unleashing U.S. Army Drone Dominance @DOGE percent.twitter.com/esaQtswwDb
— Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) July 11, 2025
The clip used to be at the beginning set to Metallica’s 1991 hit Input Sandman. In a while after it used to be revealed, customers on X wondered whether or not the band had approved the track’s use. An afternoon later, a Metallica spokesperson showed to Rolling Stone that the track have been used with out permission.
In line with the copyright strike, the Pentagon got rid of the video and reposted it with out the tune.
“This afternoon, representatives from X reached out to DoD relating to a video posted to our social media web page and requested that the video be got rid of because of a copyright factor with the track ‘Input Sandman’ via Metallica,” Wilson tells Newsweek. “The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our web page.”
Metallica has in large part stayed clear of political endorsements however has a protracted report of defending the rights to its tune. The band famously sued Napster in 2000 over unauthorized record sharing and has up to now objected to its tune being utilized by the U.S. army. In 2013, a Military SEAL advised Esquire that Metallica asked their songs no longer be used throughout interrogations, pronouncing: “Metallica were given wind of this they usually mentioned, ‘Hiya, please don’t use our tune as a result of we don’t wish to advertise violence.’”
President Donald Trump has up to now provoked the ire of musicians, together with Elton John, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Weapons N’ Roses, for the use of songs at rallies and marketing campaign occasions with out consent.
In 2024, The White Stripes sued Trump over the usage of “Seven Country Military” in a marketing campaign video, accusing him of “flagrant misappropriation.” The band dropped the lawsuit in November that 12 months, brushing aside it with out prejudice.