Judge issues preliminary injunction on Trump campaign use of the song ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’

(CNN) — A federal judge has ruled former President Donald Trump and his campaign must pause on using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

The decision came after the estate of the late R&B artist and songwriter Isaac Hayes sought an emergency injunction to stop the Trump campaign from using the song at campaign events, alleging the campaign does not have approval.

Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. made the ruling from the bench in court in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I do order Trump and his campaign to not use the song without proper license,” he said.

The judge denied a motion by the Hayes estate to force the Trump campaign to take down any previously recorded uses of the song.

Ronald Coleman, an attorney for Trump, told members of the media after the hearing 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 said they were pleased the judge didn’t order the campaign to take down any previous uses of the song.

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.

According to court documents obtained by CNN, attorneys for the Hayes 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.

“We are very grateful and happy for the decision by Judge Thrash,” Isaac Hayes III said after the hearing. “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.”

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.

Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Prince’s estate and Foo Fighters have publicly complained and/or disavowed Trump using their music.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report

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