Rand Paul's Presidential Announcement Video Pulled From YouTube Over Song Rights

4/7/2015 by Andrew Flanagan

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.S. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks during a rally to formally announce his presidential campaign at the Galt House hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on April 7, 2015.

A rep from Paul's campaign tells Billboard they are currently looking into the problem.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is without a presidential announcement video -- just hours after announcing his intention to run for the country's highest office.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the video was very likely pulled because of Paul's unlicensed use of John Rich's song "Shuttin' Detroit Down," which the senator used for his walk-on music during his campaign announcement event today (April 7), as The Washington Post notes. (Enjoy the original video for the song, which features Mickey Rourke, below.) YouTube's copyright identification system Content ID likely pulled the video automatically from a list provided by Rich's label, Warner Music Group.

A representative from Paul's campaign tells Billboard they are currently looking into the problem. Warner Music Group declined to comment.

While the technical hiccup is embarrassing, especially on the campaign's launch day, it's still better than being pilloried in public over the unsanctioned use of an artist's song.

A representative from YouTube explained that any erroneous claims from its Content ID system can be appealed.