Trump Has No License for “Hold On, I’m Coming”

Next week, Donald Trump will appear in federal court in Atlanta over an injunction request filed by Isaac Hayes’ estate regarding the unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.” Hayes’ estate is suing Trump for $3 million after allegedly finding 134 instances where the former president used “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign rallies without permission.

In anticipation of next week’s hearing, Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, says the estate has received confirmation from BMI — the organization that administers licensing rights — that Trump’s campaign does not and has not “had a political use license to play ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ for quite some time.”

Political campaigns obtain a “political entities license” from organizations such as BMI or ASCAP in order to play music during rallies and other official events. However, artists have the ability to pull their music from these licenses.

Hayes’ estate asserts that it withdrew its licensing rights once Trump started using “Hold On, I’m Coming” at his rallies in 2020. Despite this, Trump allegedly continued to play the song, leading the estate to claim he is liable for a $150,000 fine for each instance, amounting to a total of $3 million.

Speaking to Law.com, James Walker, a Georgia attorney who is representing the Hayes estate, confirmed that Isaac Hayes III owns the rights to “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

Along with Trump, the Hayes estate’s lawsuit names the RNC, the NRA, and Turning Point USA as co-defendants. BMI has confirmed that none of the defendants have a license to the song.

The injunction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3rd.

This is far from Trump’s only legal troubles tied to the unauthorized use of music. Yesterday, Jack White announced his intention to file a lawsuit after a member of Trump’s campaign posted a video on social media soundtracked by The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” Beyoncé also threatened to sue the Trump campaign when a different staffer soundtracked a video with her song “Freedom.” Meanwhile, both Foo Fighters and ABBA have demanded that Trump cease playing their music at his presidential campaign rallies.

Trump is also facing possible legal action from Taylor Swift after he falsely claimed the singer’s endorsement via a series of AI-generated images posted to his Truth Social account.