The U.S. Department of Defense was forced to pull and repost a social media video promoting drone warfare after a legendary band stepped in over the unauthorized use of its song.
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A representative of Metallica confirmed to Rolling Stone that the metal band’s hit track “Enter Sandman” was used for the Department of Defense video without authorization. After pulling the original video and reposting it without the music, the Pentagon released a statement about the switch.
“This afternoon, representatives from X reached out to DoD regarding a video posted to our social media and asked that the video be removed due to a copyright issue with the song ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica,” the statement reads. “The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page.”
In the video, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke about the Trump Administration’s increasing use of drone warfare.
“We were brought here to rebuild the military,” he stated. “Match capabilities to the threats of today. So while our adversaries have produced millions of cheap drones before us, we were mired in bureaucratic red tape. Not anymore.”
Hegseth then announced that President Trump issued an executive order last month “unleashing American drone dominance” to bolster the drone industry and arm “our war fighters.”
“Because that’s what we’re all about,” he declared.
During the clip, a quadcopter was seen holding what appeared to be a blank piece of paper above Hegseth’s head. Towards the end of the clip, he reached up and grabbed the paper. “Here’s the memo we’re signing today,” he added. “Delivered via drone.”
Organizers of President Trump’s Military Parade Received Cease-and-Desist Letter For Unauthorized Use of Song
This isn’t the first time a rock band has been forced to call out the Trump administration for unauthorized music use.
Rolling Stone reported that last month, the organizers of President Trump’s military parade received a cease-and-desist letter for “illegally” playing “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies. The letter was issued by Amber Scott, the daughter of the deceased Bobby Scott, who co-wrote the song.
The letter pointed out that the parade organizers failed to request Scott’s permission to use the song. They were eventually denied in writing by Wise Music Group, which represents the interests of the song’s co-writer Bob Russell.
“On June 14, 2025, the work was performed twice,” the letter reads. “Without a license – during the finale of America250’s event on the National Mall. This event was nationally televised, globally streamed, and posted on social media. Under 17 U.S.C. §106, your firm and/or your client(s) committed at least two separate violations.
The letter further pointed out, “1) you never sought required permissions from Amber Leigh Music; and (2) after you contacted Wise Music Group (representatives for the lyricist’s share) you received Wise’s explicit written denial on June 10, 2025 at 9:18AM PDT and then acknowledged that denial hours later, at 5:11PM PDT.”