Why does the Trump campaign continue to use music without permission? Oh, and the family of legendary soul musician Isaac Hayes is now threatening legal action against former President Donald Trump for using the song “Hold On, I’m Comin'” without permission at his campaign rallies. And rightly so.
Who is Isaac Hayes III, if we need to explain? He is the son of the late musician, said a copyright infringement notice issued by attorney James Walker, which demands Trump’s campaign pay $3 million in royalties.
Hayes’ record is not the first. The list of artists protesting Trump’s absurd use of their music at rallies continues to grow. The Hayes family joins other notable artists, including the estates of Sinéad O’Connor, Prince and Tom Petty, as well as The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, who are demanding that the former president stop using their music. That’s a serious list of real talent and their estates fed up with Trump’s machinations.
Imagine: Isaac Hayes’ song, originally sung by soul duo Sam & Dave and co-written by Hayes and David Porter, was played at several rallies without permission.
Sadly, the legend Hayes passed away on August 10, 2008. He will be remembered for his influential contributions to music, but his son is determined to preserve his legacy. Here’s what he said:
“Donald Trump embodies a lack of integrity and class, not only through his continued use of my father’s music without permission, but also through his history of sexually abusing women and his racist rhetoric,” Hayes III said in an Instagram post on Saturday. He added: “This behavior will no longer be tolerated and we will take swift action to put a stop to it.”
As expected, the Hayes family is considering a lawsuit citing 134 counts of copyright infringement due to the “unauthorized use of the song” at Trump’s rallies over the past two years. The notice demands that the campaign immediately cease using “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” remove all videos featuring the song and issue a public disclaimer by Friday. Failure to do so will result in “further legal action,” according to another Instagram post from Hayes III on Sunday.
The family’s lawyer is not playing along. He accuses Trump of “arbitrarily and brazenly” violating copyright by continuing to use the song despite repeated requests to stop. The lawyer argues that the $3 million royalty fee is “greatly reduced” given the frequency of use. If a lawsuit is filed, the family will seek $150,000 in damages for each instance in which the song was used.
