Trump never stopped using any song did he? Who cares what lib musicians say?
If you’re not charging money to hear the music what is the issue? It’s no different than playing the music at a party at your house or wedding.
You’ve got it wrong.
Any public play of a song incurs royalties— ASCAP and BMI under normal circumstances employ ‘agents’ to visit bars, grocery stores, barber shops... you name it... looking for anyone playing music loud enough to be heard.
Live music draws special attention because the rights are separate and different than playing recorded or over the air music. This is in part the reason for the rise of Muzak— Muzak was cheaper than the original work because you were only paying the copyright holder (or writer) of the song, but not the record company’s share. Muzak recordings negotiated lower rates with the licensees, generally a ‘buyout’ based on potential ’ears’.
If Trump has paid the license (he’d be a fool not to), there’s not a lot the artist can do, as ASCAP negotiates with publishers, and most artists assign their rights to the publisher. It’s the reason Rush was able to use that Pretenders song (that, and the fact that Chrissy Hynde’s dad was a ditto head; she chose to donate the royalties).
It’s a moot point in the days of Covid, but I remember in my big city bar crawling back in the day occasionally stopping into a bar with a notice nothe door (essentially an injunction) that they couldn’t play music until they’d settled with ASCAP.