Trump campaign says family of singer Isaac Hayes doesn't own copyright of 'Hold On, I¡¯m Comin' played in his rallies
The lawsuit had sought $3 million in unpaid licensing fees, alleging that the Trump campaign had used the song a total of 134 times without permission. The complaint, on behalf of Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC, has sought $150,000 per unauthorised use of the song 'Hold On, I¡¯m Comin¡¯ in Trump's campaign rallies.
The campaign team of Republican US Presidential candidate Donald Trump has claimed that the family of the late singer Isaac Hayes does not own the copyright to a song that was being used in the former president's election rallies. The Trump campaign was responding to a lawsuit filed by the estate of Hayes alleging that their use of his 1966 song 'Hold On, I¡¯m Comin¡¯ was illegal as they had not granted permission for the same.
CREDIT: AP
Isaac Hayes's family sought $3 million from Trump
The lawsuit had sought $3 million in unpaid licensing fees, alleging that the Trump campaign had used the song a total of 134 times without permission. The complaint, on behalf of Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC, has sought $150,000 per unauthorised use of the song 'Hold On, I¡¯m Comin¡¯ in Trump's campaign rallies.
Who owns rights to Hold On, I¡¯m Comin?
However, the Trump campaign, in their response, argued that Isaac Hayes's estate does not own the copyright to the song. According to the Trump campaign, over the decades, the rights to the song were sold several times and currently, they are held by Universal Music Group Publishing (UMPG) and Warner Chappell Music Publishing.
CREDIT: Facebook/ Isaac Hayes
Have permission to use the song: Trump campaign
The Trump campaign also claimed that they have the licence to use the song, which was a Music Licence for Political Entities or Organisations they obtained from BMI in 2022.
Not the first such case
This is not the first time the Trump campaign has been hit by allegations of unauthorised use of songs during election events.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Last week, Swedish pop group ABBA had asked the Trump campaign not to use their songs in the Republican candidate's political rallies. The Trump campaign had a similar response and argued that they had the necessary permissions from BMI.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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