Left: Grammy-winning musician Isaac Hayes in May 2000 (Scott Weiner/MediaPunch/IPX). Right: Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump (left) is introduced alongside Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) during the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee (AP Photo/Paul Sancya).
A federal judge in the US state of Georgia granted the estate of songwriter Isaac Haye a special hearing to resolve allegations that presidential candidate Donald Trump repeatedly and without permission used the 1966 song “Hold On, I’m Comin'” at campaign events.
Hayes’ estate demanded $3 million in a cease-and-desist order earlier this month for Trump’s unauthorized use of the hit song. Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC said the song has been played over a hundred times at Trump rallies since 2022 – always without the legal right to do so. The estate also said the campaign made “no meaningful effort” to even try to obtain a license to use the song.
Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, posted on August 10 about a Trump rally in Bozeman, Montana, that had taken place the day before.
“Today, on the anniversary of the death of my father Isaac Hayes, we have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC and its representatives not to use the phrase ‘Hold on I’m Comin’, written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, at campaign rallies, but in Montana they used it once again,” Hayes III wrote.
Hayes III also commented: “With his disrespect and sexual abuse of women, as well as his racist rhetoric, Donald Trump embodies the worst levels of integrity and class.”
Six days later, Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC filed a $3 million lawsuit against Trump, claiming the former president “unlawfully profited from (Hayes’) reputation and identity” by using the hit song at rallies in violation of federal law. The lawsuit cited 134 counts of copyright infringement and demanded that Trump pay unpaid royalties.
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Bill Clinton-appointed U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. granted the plaintiff’s request for an emergency hearing and set the date for September 3 at 10 a.m.
“There will be no live streaming of the hearing,” the court filing said.
Hayes III announced Saturday that Trump, the RNC, Trump for President Inc. 2024, Turning Point USA and the NRA must appear in court for the hearing.
At the hearing, the court will consider the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction requiring Trump to stop all of the conduct named in the lawsuit. In the complaint, Hayes’ estate noted:
Ironically, Trump has spent his entire life, well over 60 years, protecting, enhancing, and building the Trump name reputation and brand bequeathed to him by his father, yet refuses to honor, respect, and pay for the name, brand, reputation, intellectual property, and business bequeathed to the Hayes family by their father.
It is widely known that Trump used popular music without permission during his presidential campaign. This summer, Celine Dion accused Trump of playing “My Heart Will Go On” without permission. Artists such as Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Neil Young, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Linkin Park, Guns N’ Roses and Journey have made similar allegations that Trump used their music without permission.
In an email Monday, attorney James L. Walker Jr., who represents the estate of Hayes and Hayes III, said his clients were grateful that the court granted the request for an emergency hearing.
“We look forward to seeing Mr. Trump and his representatives in federal court on September 3,” Walker said. “Thou shalt not steal!”
Trump representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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