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The Department of Defense is apparently no match for the notoriously litigious Metallica. A social media video promoting the department’s drone capabilities — set to the band’s classic track “Enter Sandman”— was quickly pulled after X (formerly Twitter) received a copyright notice from Metallica. The DoD subsequently uploaded a new version sans “Enter Sandman.”
“This afternoon, representatives from X reached out to DoD regarding a video posted to our social media page and asked that the video be removed due to a copyright issue with the song ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica. The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
A representative for Metallica confirmed to Rolling Stone that the use of “Enter Sandman” was unauthorized.
Donald Trump has a long history of playing artists’ music at rallies and events without their explicit permission. However, he’s largely avoided legal consequences because either his campaign or the venues hosting his events typically hold public performance licenses from rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI. These licenses allow for the use of many copyrighted songs in live settings, but they don’t extend to government entities like the Department of Defense, nor do they cover online use—such as posting videos with copyrighted music on social media—which requires separate synchronization or mechanical licenses.
Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance @DOGE pic.twitter.com/esaQtswwDb
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) July 11, 2025
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