Isaac Hayes’ Family Threaten To Sue Trump Campaign For $3 Million Over Use of Song at Rallies

However, bands and artists can often take offense to certain candidates using their music. In the past, artists from Aerosmith to Rihanna have asked the trump team to drop their tunes from their roster. Now, the family of late singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has joined the list of iconic music makers by demanding that the Trump campaign pays out a whopping $3 million for unauthorized use of the song “Hold On I’m Coming” at his gatherings and on videos.

Hayes passed back in 2008, but the famous song, first performed in 1966 by the duo Sam & Dave, has remained a staple on the radio for decades.

A letter from the lawyer states: “It has come to our attention that you or the campaign have authorized the illegal public performance of the Song on multiple occasions during various rallies for your political campaign without authorization from the copyright holder, despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use by our client.”

As well, from a legal standpoint, high level candidates are supposed to get permission from the artist to use songs. James Walker, the lawyer for the Hayes family, demanded that by August 16, Trump and his campaign staff stop using “Hold On I’m Coming” and remove all material that features the song.

They also demand that the Trump campaign pay a $3 million licensing fee for their unauthorized use of the song. According to the legal team, the amount is “a very discounted fee for the normal license fee associated with this many multiple uses. The normal fee for these infringements will be 10 times as much if we litigate, starting at $150,000 per use.”

In the past, the Republican candidate has often been sued by people he never paid and by artists whose songs he used without authorization. During the 2016 election cycle, hundreds of workers shared their stories of not being paid for construction work performed on Trump properties. Even after lawsuits were filed, the original payments were never settled.

Another fee of $150,000 per use of the song in damages will be filed in court. This is the regular price that anyone else reaching out to the Hayes estate would need to pay for use; this includes for political and entertainment purposes.

After Hayes III saw a video of his father’s music being used online, he posted on X, “taking legal action to stop the unauthorized use of this song. Donald Trump represents the worst in honesty, integrity, and class, and [the family wants] no association with his campaign of hate and racism.”

At the populous town in Montana, Trump made a series of bizarre claims, including that no one knows Vice President Kamala Harris’ last name and that Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) loves his border wall, despite never publically endorsing it.

The 82-year-old is not active in politics but agrees that Trump stands against the ideals of the country.

Just this week, Celine Dion wrote on her X account that her management team “became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana.”

He quickly took to X to share his disagreement, “Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this s*** shut right down right now.”