The family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes have threatened to sue Donald Trump for $3million to prevent him from using his song ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ at rallies.
According to a letter sent to Trump and his team, which was shared by Hayes’ son on social media, they will file a lawsuit for 134 counts of copyright infringement. They are also demanding $3million (£2.4million) in licensing fees for the campaign’s repeated uses of the song between 2022 and 2024.
‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ is usually played at rallies before and after Trump’s speeches.
In their letter, Hayes’ family claim they’ve “asked repeatedly” for Trump to stop using the song, citing 134 alleged occasions when he did so regardless.
Their lawyer, James Walker, alleged that the Trump campaign has “wilfully and brazenly engaged in copyright infringement” and demanded that the campaign remove any videos featuring the song. He also demanded they issue a full statement acknowledging that Hayes’ family have not “authorised, endorsed or permitted” the use of his music.
We the family of @isaachayes Isaac Hayes Enterprises, represented by Walker & Associates, are suing @realDonaldTrump and his campaign for 134 counts copyright infringement for the unauthorized use of the song “Hold On I’m Coming” at campaign rallies from 2022-2024. pic.twitter.com/uwbJbB32Ya
— Isaac Hayes (@isaachayes) August 11, 2024
Walker added that the $3million settlement is a “heavily discounted” figure because of how many times ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ has been used.
The letter also added that if there was no resolution and a lawsuit was filed, the Hayes family would seek damages of $150,000 per use of the song, which would total over $20milion (£15.7million).
The Trump campaign has not yet responded to the letter or threat of legal action.
This isn’t the first time that the Trump campaign has come under fire from artists whose music has been used at rallies. Last week, Celine Dion’s team have stated that Trump used ‘My Heart Will Go On’ without authorisation at a rally and that she “does not endorse this”.
Meanwhile, earlier this year after The Smiths’ ‘Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want’ was played at one such event, Johnny Marr made his thoughts clear: “Consider this shit shut down right now.”
In the past, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Queen and The Animals have made similar objections.
In other news, Trump claimed last night (August 12) that he could have prevented the war in Ukraine thanks to his relationship with Vladmir Putin, during an interview with Elon Musk marred by technical issues.