President Donald Trump and his campaign can no longer play Isaac Hayes’ Hold On, I’m Coming song at his rallies after a federal judge in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction.
Per CNN, the ruling was made by Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. after Hayes’ family filed an emergency injunction seeking the court to order the Trump campaign to refrain from playing the song at its campaign events. The deceased singer and songwriter’s estate claim that the Trump campaign is not authorized to use the song.
“I do order Trump and his campaign to not use the song without proper license,” Judge Jr. said in the Atlanta court. Hayes’ estate also filed a motion seeking the court to order the Trump campaign to pull down previous content that included the song being used. But the judge denied that request.
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Responding to the decision, Trump’s attorney, Ronald Coleman, told reporters that “the campaign has no interest in annoying or hurting anyone. And if the Hayes family feels it hurts or annoys them, that’s fine, we’re not going to force the issue.”
Coleman, however, welcomed the judge’s decision to deny the motion that sought the court to order the Trump campaign to remove previous content that included the use of the song, CNN reported.
Hayes, who passed away in 2008 at age 65, and David Porter co-wrote the 1996 song, with the soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave performing it. But attorneys for the Hayes estate in court documents accused the Trump campaign of using the song without obtaining a “valid public performance license.” The plaintiffs also want the court to grant them “compensatory damages for the unauthorized use” of the deceased singer and songwriter’s song.
Hayes’ estate claims that the deceased singer and songwriter’s material had been played at Trump’s campaigns since 2020, adding that they have since been using his music. Trump recently took to his Truth Social media platform to share a post from a rally where Hold On, I’m Coming is reportedly heard being played.
“We are very grateful and happy for the decision by Judge Thrash,” Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, said. “I want this to serve as an opportunity for other artists to come forward that don’t want their music used by Donald Trump or other political entities.”
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But attorneys for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign responded to the lawsuit, alleging that the song’s license holder isn’t Hayes’ estate. Hayes III, however, took to X on Monday to share a supposed June 5 letter from the performance rights organization, BMI.
“Donald Trump for President has been claiming they had a valid @BMI license to play ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ for weeks. FALSE,” Hayes III wrote. “Donald Trump for President has not had valid license for nealy 100 days, and @realDonaldTrump has NEVER had a license. Not to mention the numerous uses before Nov. 30th, 2022.”
Besides Hayes’ estate, other musicians including Beyoncé, Celine Dion, and Prince’s estate have similarly objected to the use of their songs at Trump’s events.
