Isaac Hayes estate sues Trump campaign over use of song ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The family of the late singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes sued Donald Trump and his campaign on Friday, seeking what could be millions of dollars in fees for the alleged unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I’m Coming” in the former president’s rallies and campaign videos. The Hayes estate argues that it regained the copyright to “Hold On, I’m Coming” in 2022, and that the Trump campaign has continued to use the song without permission. The normal fee for these infringements will be 10 times as much if we litigate, starting at $150,000 per use.” The family of late songwriter Isaac Hayes argues Trump has illegally used its copyrighted work over 100 times since 2022 The August 11 letter came more than a week after Hayes III posted that the Trump campaign used the song without the family’s approval at his Atlanta rally. His family sent the Trump campaign a notice of copyright infringement on August 11 over the late musician’s song, ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ Porter, who co-wrote the song with Hayes, told The Independent last month: “I can say I don’t want any of my songs used for political campaigns,” The 82-year-old added: “Certainly including this one… We create music for uplifting people, not separating them.” This isn’t the first time Trump has faced the ire of musicians.