Former President Donald Trump has long taken flak for the unauthorized use of songs at his campaign rallies. Musicians and their estates that have condemned Trump for the practice include Tom Petty , Prince , Celine Dion , Panic! at the Disco and Sinead O'Connor . Now, Trump is being threatened with legal action by the family of musician Isaac Hayes over his unauthorized use of Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming," which was co-written by Hayes. A letter sent through Atlanta-based law firm Walker and Associates alleges that the president used the song over 130 times, and demanded a minimum payment of $3 million in order to avert legal action.
Hayes' son, Isaac Hayes III, brought public attention to usage of his father's music in a Saturday post on X , formerly known as Twitter.
"We have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC and his representatives not to use 'Hold on I'm Coming' written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter during campaign rallies, but yet again in Montana they used it," Hayes wrote. "Donald Trump represents the worst in integrity and class with his disrespect and sexual abuse of Women and racist rhetoric. We will now deal with this very swiftly."
The following day, Hayes announced that his family was prepared to sue Trump and his campaign for 134 counts of copyright infringement for the usage of "Hold On I'm Coming" at campaign rallies between 2022 and 2024. Hayes said he was prepared to demand a payment of $3 million in licensing fees, a public disclaimer, removal of related videos, and end to use of the song, all by Friday The letter also states that the family will seek a higher penalty if litigation is necessary, starting at $150,000 per use of song.
In a Tuesday interview on MSNBC's the Joy Reid show, Hayes said that he first noticed Trump using his father's music at in May 2022 at the NRA convention and said that his family sent a cease-and-desist letter shortly after. A tweet from his father's account at the time states that the family and estate "would NEVER" have approved of the song's usage.
"I am the brother to seven sisters. Seven black women. Donald Trump has been found liable of sexual abuse. He consistently says things negatively about Kamala Harris, disrespectfully. I don't want people to hear "Hold On I'm Coming" and think of Isaac Hayes," Hayes said.
The beats go on: Trump keeps dancing as artists get outraged over his use of their songs
Is Trump violating copyright laws?
To use a musical artist's songs legally, an individual could go about it three different ways, according to the U.S. Copyright Office .
- Use a musical work that is already in the public domain. If a song is in the public domain, either it was never protected by copyright or its term of protection has expired. All copyright protection has a limited time, per the U.S. Constitution. If new contributions were made to a work in the public domain then it may be copyright protected.
- Get permission from the copyright holder directly, or license the work according to the terms set by the licensing contract. Federal copyright protection for sound recordings began on February 15, 1972. The Music Modernization Act gives certain protections, and exceptions to those protections, to pre-1972 sound recordings.
- Rely on a statutory limitation or exception, such as fair use or the Section 115 license for musical works , which requires copyright owners to give exclusive rights to anyone who wants to make or distribute phonorecords of their works.
If Trump or anyone else does not obtain the rights to use a song, the copyright holder has the "right to pursue legal action," the U.S. Copyright Office says. Copyright lawsuits are also generally decided in federal court, the government office added.
Cy Neff reports on Wyoming politics for USA TODAY. You can reach him at cneff@usatoday.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CyNeffNews
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Isaac Hayes' family latest to threaten legal action against Trump for unauthorized song use
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