Judge rules that Trump campaign must stop playing the Isaac Hayes tune 'Hold On, I'm Comin'' as artists speak out against former president's song usage

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump campaign will have to stop playing Isaac Hayes’s song “Hold On, I’m Comin’.”

On Sept. 3, Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. in Atlanta ruled in favor of the Hayes estate, which had sought an emergency injunction against former President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign to stop it from playing the late R&B artist’s song, which was co-written by David Porter and performed by Sam & Dave in 1966, at rallies and events.

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

However, Thrash denied a motion by Hayes’s estate to have the Trump campaign take down any previous uses of the song.

Ronald Coleman, an attorney for the former president, said 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,” CNN reported.

Yahoo Entertainment reached out to both Isaac Hayes III, son of the songwriter, and the Trump campaign but did not immediately receive a response.

The Hayes estate joins a growing list of artists who have called on the Trump campaign to stop using music without authorization on the campaign trail.

In fact, the Trump campaign’s actions aren’t unique to his 2024 run for president. The Republican nominee was also called out by multiple artists during his 2016 and 2020 campaigns to stop playing their music during Trump events.

That list, according to the Associated Press, includes artists like R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, Pharrell, Rihanna, Adele, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince.

Here are the artists who have spoken out in the past few weeks:

Jack White

Jack White is withdrawing his song “Seven Nation Army” from the Trump campaign’s collection of unauthorized songs being used in the Republican nominee’s 2024 presidential campaign and is even threatening the former president with a lawsuit.

The former White Stripes singer followed on the heels of ABBA this week, taking to Instagram on Thursday to reshare a post from a Trump campaign staffer. The post, which appears to have been deleted, includes a video of former President Donald Trump ascending a staircase to board a plane to the tune of the rock band’s 2003 song “Seven Nation Army.”

“"Oh....Don't even think about using my music you fascists. Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.),” White wrote in his post.

ABBA

ABBA is sending out an “SOS.”

The Swedish band is demanding that the Trump presidential campaign stop using its music and videos without permission at rallies and other events.

Universal Music Group, the band’s record label, issued a statement on Thursday to Reuters, saying, “Together with the members of ABBA, we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down."

At a July 27 campaign stop in St. Cloud, Minn., the Republican presidential candidate’s team played songs including “Money, Money, Money,” “The Winner Takes It All” and “Dancing Queen,” according to Rolling Stone. Unauthorized video footage of the band also was shown at the event.

In its statement, the label added that no permission for the usage had been granted to the campaign.

Celine Dion

The “My Heart Will Go On” singer, along with her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada, and management team called on the Trump campaign to stop using her Titanic ballad at their events without permission.

This came after Trump and his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, appeared at a campaign stop on Aug. 9 in Montana, where a video of Dion also played.

“In no way is this use authorized and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” the singer posted on X.

The tweet also pointed out the song choice, tied to a film about a sinking ship.

“And really, that song?” it read.

Isaac Hayes

The Issac Hayes estate filed a cease-and-desist letter against the Trump campaign on Aug. 11 and asked for $3 million in compensation for its continued unauthorized use of “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” which Hayes co-wrote with David Porter.

Attorney James Walker, representing the estate, wrote that the Trump campaign has used the Sam & Dave song without permission “over one hundred times” since 2022, according to Rolling Stone. The most recent unauthorized usage came during a campaign event in Montana on Aug. 9.

Isaac Hayes III, son of the songwriter, also called out the move on X.

“Today, on the anniversary of my father @isaachayes death we have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC and his representatives not to use ‘Hold on I’m Comin’’ written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter during campaign rallies but yet again, in Montana they used it.”

Hayes reiterated his frustration to the Hollywood Reporter on Aug. 12, recalling that Trump had played his father’s song at an NRA event shortly after the Uvalde school shooting in Texas.

“I was pissed,” Hayes told the outlet. “There’s just been a mass shooting. So why are we using it at the NRA convention? I wanted to take legal action because Trump has made statements against women, and here is a man who has been convicted of sexual abuse. I’m a brother to seven sisters, and I don’t want anybody to think of ‘Hold On’ and think of Donald Trump.”

A federal judge granted the estate an emergency hearing,” which is set to take place Sept. 3 at the Northern U.S. District Federal Court in Atlanta.

Beyoncé

Beyoncé threatened to issue a cease-and-desist after Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung used her song “Freedom” without permission in a video of Trump exiting a plane in Michigan that was posted to X on Aug. 20. The video has since been taken down.

The song, featured on Beyoncé’s album Lemonade, has become the unofficial anthem for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. While the singer hasn’t publicly endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate, she did give the Harris campaign permission to use the track.

Prior to the “Freedom” post, the Trump campaign also played Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold 'Em” at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 31, according to CNN.

Foo Fighters

At a Trump campaign stop in Arizona on Aug. 23, in which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign for president and endorsed the GOP candidate, Foo Fighters song “My Hero” played as the former independent candidate took the stage.

The band was quick to reply “No” on X when asked whether it had granted permission for the song’s use.

A representative for the band told Billboard, “Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” adding that the band would take “appropriate action” and use any royalties from Trump’s usage to donate to Harris’s campaign.

Trump’s spokesman, Cheung, however denied Foo Fighters’ claims.

Cheung took to X on Aug. 24 to refute the band’s statement, writing, “It’s Times Like These facts matter, don’t be a Pretender. @foofighters”

He also told The Hill that the campaign had permission.

“We have a license to play the song,” he said in an Aug. 25 email to the outlet.

Updated, 1:25pm ET: (The piece has been updated to reflect news of the judge's ruling in the Isaac Hayes estate's emergency injunction request that the Trump campaign stop using his music.)