A major development has come in Isaac Hayes‘ estate’s legal pursuit against Donald Trump for repeatedly using one of Hayes’ most known songs, “Hold On, I’m Coming,” at his rallies.
On Aug. 23, the singer’s son Isaac Hayes III announced on X that an “emergency” court involving Trump, his camp and other government organizations has been granted an will take place on Sept. 3.
“See you in court,” part of the post read.
🚨Breaking 🚨The Federal Court has granted our request for an Emergency Hearing to secure injunctive relief.
Donald Trump, @realdonaldtrump, the RNC, Trump, Trump for President Inc. 2024, Turning Point and The NRA are required to appear in court September 3rd, 2024 at the…
— Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) August 23, 2024
On Aug. 25, Hayes III shared an update about the matter, saying that Trump was officially served the approved hearing papers.
“Donald Trump @realdonaldtrump & Team Trump has been served with our lawsuit and notice of the September 3, 2024 emergency hearing,” Hayes III tweeted. “Represented by @jameslwalkeresq we will see Donald Trump, the @gop @nra and several others who have used Isaac Hayes copyright illegally over 134 times in court after being warned to stop NUMEROUS times.”
Donald Trump @realdonaldtrump & Team Trump has been served with our lawsuit and notice of the September 3, 2024 emergency hearing.
Represented by @jameslwalkeresq we will see Donald Trump, the @gop @nra and several others who have used Isaac Hayes copyright illegally over 134… pic.twitter.com/XezhwUgGg0
— Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) August 25, 2024
As Blavity reported, the lawsuit comes after multiple warnings to stop using “Hold On, I’m Coming.” On Aug. 10, the official Isaac Hayes X account tweeted the following: “We the family of @isaachayes Isaac Hayes Enterprises, represented by Walker & Associates, are suing @realDonaldTrump and his campaign for 134 counts copyright infringement for the unauthorized use of the song ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ at campaign rallies from 2022-2024. We demand the cessation of use, removal of all related videos, a public disclaimer, and payment of $3 million in licensing fees by August 16, 2024. Failure to comply will result in further legal action.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has come under fire for using artists’ songs without their permission. Adele, The Rolling Stones, Rihanna, Sinead O’Connor, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and the Foo Fighters are just some of the artists who’ve objected to their music being used to support Trump’s campaign over the years. Last week, Beyoncé threatened Trump’s campaign with a cease-and-desist after her song “Freedom” was used in a social media clip, which has since been removed.
“It is most unfortunate that these artists have publicly posted on their social media and asked Team Trump and other candidates not to use their music — and yet their candidates keep using their music,” Hayes Enterprises attorney James L. Walker Jr. said in a statement to Billboard.
On Aug. 24, Hayes III published a video to educate the public on how a political figure obtains authorization to use a song.
If I repeatedly used any of @realdonaldtrump’s IP without permission, he would sue the shit out of me. 🤣
For all the copyright experts out there here’s how it works. And to the writers who don’t want Trump using their songs here’s how you stop him. 😐@jameslwalkeresq @bmi… pic.twitter.com/zGo5fE1Tbw
— Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) August 25, 2024
“If you’re a political candidate and you want to use an artist’s song, you have to get a political use license from PROs like BMI or ASCAP. You have to get one of these — a music license to play this. Then you can play an artist’s song at any campaign rally that you want to without any problem,” he said in the video clip.
He continued, “Here’s the problem, at some point Donald Trump was notified to stop playing ‘Hold on, I’m Coming’ because that song was removed for his use from the political use license and he kept playing the song, so if you keep playing the song after you’re told not to play the song, the fine is a $150,000 every time you play the song.”
