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Isaac Hayes Estate Demands $3 Million for Trump’s Unauthorized Use of ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’

The soul legend's estate is insisting that Trump stop playing the classic Sam & Dave song without permission

We say “questionable,” not “bad,” because while the song choices at his campaign rallies are often fine in themselves, the former president has the nasty habit of playing them without getting permission from the relevant copyright holders. The Atlanta-based attorney James Walker sent the strongly-worded Aug. 11 letter, slamming Trump and his campaign for playing the Stax Records classic “without authorization from the copyright holder, despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use by our client.” The complaint includes an appendix with a “non-exhaustive list” of “over one hundred times” that Trump has played “Hold On, I’m Coming” at his rallies since 2022, and notes: “As we prepared this letter, there was an additional use in Montana just two nights ago, even with your office apparently aware that you had no permission.” (Read a Rolling Stone report from that Montana rally, which also featured prominent use of the Cats song “Memory,” here.) Just last week, Celine Dion asked him to stop playing “My Heart Will Go On.” He’s gotten similar complaints in the past for using songs by Tom Petty, Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, the Village People, John Fogerty, Aerosmith, Linkin Park, Journey, and others.

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