The estate of soul musician and actor Isaac Hayes has sent Donald Trump’s presidential campaign a cease and desist letter over the unauthorized use of the artist’s hit song “Hold On (I’m Coming).”
The letter, posted on social media by former CNN contributor Roland Martin, demands that Trump’s campaign pay $3 million, remove any videos from Trump rallies or other campaign media that use the song, and issue a statement saying that Hayes’ estate and family did not authorize the campaign to use the artist’s music.
Hayes’ lawyers point out in the letter that the $3 million the estate is seeking is a “greatly reduced amount” from the usual rate of $150,000 per use of the song. Based on the number of times “Hold On” was used in the campaign, that would result in a total that “would be ten times as high in the event of litigation.”
The lawyers also warn that they will file a lawsuit against Trump’s campaign if they do not receive a response by August 16.
The letter comes a day after Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, criticized the Trump campaign on social media for using his father’s song at rallies in Atlanta last week and in Bozeman, Montana, this weekend, and threatened legal action.
“Today, on the anniversary of my father’s (Isaac Hayes) death, we have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC and its representatives not to use ‘Hold on I’m Coming,’ written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, at campaign rallies, but in Montana they used it once again,” he wrote. “Donald Trump, with his disrespect and sexual abuse of women and racist rhetoric, is the worst representative of integrity and class. We will now take care of this very quickly.”
More to follow …
