Isaac Hayes’ family heads to court to end Trump campaign’s use of ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’
A fight over the Trump campaign’s use of a soul song co-written by the late Isaac Hayes will land in federal court Tuesday.
The Hayes estate is seeking an emergency injunction to stop former President Donald Trump from using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign events, alleging the campaign does not have approval.
Hayes died in 2008 after suffering a stroke. He was 65.
The 1966 song, co-written by Hayes and David Porter, was performed by Sam Moore and Dave Prater, who were professionally known as the duo Sam & Dave. Prater died in 1988.
CNN has reached out to a representative for Moore for comment.
“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,” Isaac Hayes III posted on X last month. “Failure to comply will result in further legal action.”
According to court documents obtained by CNN, attorneys for the estate claim that the campaign has not “obtained a valid public performance license” and are requesting “compensatory damages for the unauthorized use” of Hayes’ music.
The Hayes estate alleges that Trump began using Hayes’ material as “outro” music at campaign events in 2020 and have continued to use his music in 2024, as seen in one of Trump’s recent posts on Truth Social in which “Hold On, I’m Comin’” can be heard playing at a rally.
“I don’t want that song associated with Donald Trump. I don’t want people to hear ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ and think of Donald Trump because of the nature and the character of the person that he is,” Hayes III told CNN’s Victor Blackwell in a recent interview.
“I’m the brother to seven sisters – seven Black women. Donald Trump has been found liable of sexual abuse. He says horrible things about women, says horrible things about Vice President (Kamala) Harris and I know my father would not want Donald Trump a man who speaks about women, especially Black women, using his music to run a campaign,” the younger Hayes said.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Trump for comment.
In their response to the lawsuit, attorneys for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign claim the Hayes estate is not the license holder for the song.
On Monday, Hayes III posted a letter dated June 5, 2024, that he said was from BMI, an organization that collects license fees from businesses for the use of music.
“Donald Trump for President has been claiming they had a valid @BMI license to play “Hold On, I’m Coming” for weeks. FALSE,” the post on X reads. “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.”
The estate is the first to end up in court over complaints of Trump and his campaign allegedly using music they had not properly licensed, but other artists have complained.