The Trump Campaign’s Latest Copyright Conundrum

The family of singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes, who died in 2008, and Isaac Hayes Enterprises, has become the latest in a growing list of artists who have threatened to sue Donald J. Trump when it published a letter yesterday claiming unauthorized use of the song “Hold On (I’m Coming)” at Trump’s campaign rallies.

Hayes co-wrote the song with David Porter and it was originally recorded in 1966 by R&B duo Sam & Dave. According to the letter, which was sent by the family’s attorney, James Walker, and which the Hayes family posted to X on August 11, the song has been used more than 100 times without authorization, adding up to a “very discounted fee” of $3 million that the family is requesting be paid for the multiple counts of copyright infringement. “The normal fee for these infringements will be 10 times as much if we litigate, starting at $150,000 per use,” said the letter (about $20.1 million potentially).

The letter asked that the Trump Campaign cease all use of the song, remove all video clips featuring the song, release an official statement clarifying that the Hayes family did not authorize use of the song, and pay the discounted license fees. The family threatened to sue in federal court and seek the full amount of the fees as well as injunctive relief if they did not receive a response by August 16.

According to another source, the Hayes family has been asking Trump to stop using the song for two years, with no results. Trump has a long history of being sent cease and desist orders or being accused of copyright infringement for similar uses of songs. At least 35 artists have spoken out against or sent takedown notices in response to their music being used during his various campaigns.

Interestingly, Sam Moore of Sam & Dave also opposed Barack Obama’s use of “Hold On (I’m Coming)” during his campaign in 2008. According to Entertainment, Moore sent Obama a letter in 2008 explaining that while “it is thrilling … to see that our country has matured to the place where it is no longer an impossibility for a man of color to really be considered as a legitimate candidate for the highest office in our land,” his vote was also “a very private matter between myself and the ballot box.” Moore performed at Trump’s inauguration in 2016.

Trump has also come under fire (and ridicule) recently for using Celine Dion’s famed song from the Titanic soundtrack, “My Heart Will Go On,” at his rallies. The Canadian singer’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., posted a statement to X over the weekend confirming that the singer did not authorize or endorse the use of the song and questioning the decision to use the tune – the theme for a movie about a doomed ship – at a campaign event.

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