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Legendary singer Isaac Hayes' estate is suing former American President Donald Trump. On Friday, August 23, 2024, the singer's son, Isaac Hayes III, announced that the federal court granted their request for an emergency hearing to secure injunctive relief. Trump and his team, the RNC, Turning Point, and the NRA are required to appear in court for the September 3, 2024, emergency hearing.
The lawsuit stems from Trump's unauthorized usage of Sam & Dave's 1966 hit track Hold On, I'm Coming, written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Trump used the track in multiple campaign rallies over 100 times between 2022 and 2024, with Hayes' estate demanding $3 million in licensing fees for the repeated unauthorized use of the song.
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"Donald Trump represents the worst in integrity and class": Isaac Hayes III
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is facing a lawsuit from the estate of the late Isaac Hayes. Earlier this month, on August 11, Isaac Hayes Enterprises filed a copyright infringement notice against the former president, citing the unauthorized usage of Hold On, I'm Coming in multiple political rallies.
From campaign rallies dating from 2022 to 2024, Hayes' estate alleged 134 counts of copyright infringement from the former United States President. Isaac Hayes passed away on August 10, 2008. During the 2024 anniversary of his father's death, Hayes' son, Isaac Hayes III, announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Trump and his team continued to use the track despite repeated warnings to the former president and the RNC. He 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."
After filing the copyright infringement notice on August 11, Hayes III revealed on X:
"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."
The copyright infringement notice mentioned that the $3 million in licensing fees was a "very discounted fee" compared to the normal licensing fee associated with as many uses. The notice revealed that the normal fee would be ten times the current amount, starting at $150,000 per use.
The notice ensured that if given no choice, Hayes' estate would take "all legal action" required to enforce the intellectual property rights allegedly violated by Donald Trump and his team, including third-party takedown requests and federal litigation. As mentioned, Hayes III tweeted on August 23 that the Georgia federal court had granted their request for an emergency hearing.
"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 Northern U.S. District Federal Court in Atlanta. See you in court."
On Saturday, August 24, Isaac Hayes III released a reel on Instagram, educating the "copyright experts" who he faced backlash from for the Trump lawsuit. He explained that political candidates had to get a political use license from one of the Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) like BMI or ASCAP to use an artist's song. With the license, the requested track could be used at any campaign or rally without an issue.
Using the track for political campaigns without a license resulted in a $150,000 fine every time the song was played. The late musician's son explained that at some point, Trump was requested to stop playing Hold On, I'm Coming because his political use license for the track was allegedly terminated, but Trump allegedly continued to play it.
2005 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter, who co-wrote Hold On, I'm Coming alongside Isaac Hayes told The Independent in a statement published on Friday, July 19, that he didn't want any of his songs used for political campaigns, including this track. The 82-year-old noted that they made music for "uplifting people, not separating them."
