I'll start off this article with a confession because it seems to be relevant. One of my favorite political campaign videos of the modern era has to be a video in support of Trump called "Trump: Hold on. I'm coming remix." It was published by the YouTube account RightAmerica and I've watched it at least fifty times, probably more. If you've never seen it, I urge you to click through and check it out, but you may want to do so quickly because it may not be up for much longer. The video prominently features the song "Hold on. I'm Coming" from legendary music group Sam & Dave, co-written by Isaac Hayes. The Trump campaign also frequently plays the song for the audience while waiting for the former President to take the stage at rallies. However, it turns out that the family of Isaac Hayes is not happy about this situation. They claim that Trump is using the song without permission or compensation. They are unhappy enough that they have filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the campaign, demanding that they cease and desist. Could this relly be true? (Hollywood Reporter)

The family of Isaac Hayes claims it is suing Donald Trump and his campaign for continued unauthorized use of the Sam & Dave hit song “Hold On, I’m Coming,” which was co-written by the late soul icon.

On Sunday, Isaac Hayes III, the Grammy and Oscar-winner’s son, posted on social media that the family had filed suit over the Trump campaign’s use of the Sam & Dave hit at its rallies from 2022 to this year.

“We the family of @_isaachayes Isaac Hayes Enterprises, represented by Walker & Associates, are suing Donald Trump and his campaign for 134 counts copyright infringement for the unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign rallies from 2022-2024,” the official Isaac Hayes account posted on X, in a post signed by The Hayes Family.

The first thing to note here is that the laws regarding copyright control over published music are clear. For all songs published in the modern era, the musicians or their descendants maintain control for 70 years after the initial publication unless they transfer those rights. Sam & Dave released Hold On. I'm Coming in 1996, so assuming they never sold the rights, they should still be solidly in control of the song. I have long supported the right of artists to maintain control of and profit from their work so the same would apply to the family of Isaac Hayes.

With all of that said, Donald Trump has assembled a large and very experienced campaign team. They are responsible for a plethora of details that must be tended to and questions such as copyright restrictions on music that they use at public events would fall into that bucket. Is it really possible that Trump's team could have been using that song for the better part of three years in any number of places and never bothered to check to see if they were supposed to pay a fee for the right to use it? If so, that would be a completely rookie mistake to make, so I immediately wondered if there wasn't something else going on under the covers here.

How is it that the Hayes family hasn't noticed this going on until now? Trump's rallies are huge and they draw regular media coverage. The campaign has been playing that song frequently since 2022 but are they suggesting that the family hadn't taken any action until a couple of months before the election? Most recording artists and production companies tend to watch such matters like hawks because there is significant money on the line. That's particularly true when we're discussing a song as wildly popular and successful as this one. That fact made me even more suspicious that politics was playing a role here somewhere. On his social media page, Isaac Hayes III barely mentioned the money, instead accusing Trump of having "a lack of integrity and class, not only through his continuous use of my father’s music without permission but also through his history of sexual abuse against women and his racist rhetoric." He also wrote that this behavior "will no longer be tolerated." Wait... so it was being tolerated before? Does that mean that the family knew the Trump campaign was using the song but simply chose to ignore that fact until now?

Something here just doesn't add up. If everything turns out to be as the Hayes family claims, then fine. Trump should pay up and stop using the song. It would be the right thing to do and there is plenty of other music out there available for purchase. But if someone representing the Hayes family "accidentally" approved an application from the Trump campaign back in 2022, they should own up to that as well. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's far from impossible.