YouTube removes Swiss right-wing party video after plagiarism claim

Nile Rodgers co-wrote the song "We are Family", which was recorded by Sister Sledge and went on to become a worldwide hit. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

US music producer Nile Rodgers has condemned the Swiss People’s Party for allegedly using the melody of “We Are Family” – a song he co-wrote in the 1970s – in a political campaign clip. YouTube has removed the video after Sony Music claimed it violated copyright.

“I wrote ‘We Are Family’ to be the ultimate song about inclusion and diversity at all levels, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion or sexual orientation,” wrote Rodgers on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.

“I condemn its use by the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) or anyone else not keeping with the values of the song and all decent people. The purpose of the song is to bring joy to all with no exclusions!”

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The campaign video, released on Monday, featured several People’s Party members singing and dancing, including Energy Minister Albert Rösti, party president Marco Chiesa and parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi. The clip, called “Das isch d’SVP!” (This is the People’s Party!) was only available briefly on YouTube before being blocked because of a copyright complaint from Sony. The video remains unavailable.

The reason for the complaint was that the melody of the chorus was considered an adaptation of the song “We Are Family”, which was co-written by Rodgers and became a worldwide hit when recorded by Sister Sledge in 1979.

Zurich parliamentarian Thomas Matter, who created the text and music for the campaign video, rejected the claims, arguing he wrote the song with a producer friend. “The song has many facets. It also contains rap and it has absolutely nothing to do with ‘We are Family’, said Matter in a reportExternal link by Swiss public television, RTS.

“There is a chorus that may sound similar, with one or two chords. But thousands of pop songs share similarities. It is an honour for us to be compared to a worldwide hit. But it’s our song.”

Matter said that the party has asked YouTube to put the video back online and is discussing how to proceed legally.

This isn’t the first time the People’s Party has used a music videoExternal link to capture the attention of voters. “Welcome to SVP”, released in 2015, received more than a million views on YouTube and was a top 10 hit in Switzerland.