news

According to the American entertainment news website "The Wrap" on the 11th, the estate management of American musician and actor Isaac Hayes sent a lawyer's letter to the campaign team of former US President Trump, asking the other party to stop the unauthorized use of a song that Hayes participated in creating.

Former US President Trump Source: Visual China

Roland Martin, a former CNN contributor, published the document on social media, which requires Trump's campaign to pay $3 million in copyright royalties and delete all videos of Trump's rallies or other campaign events that use the song "Hold on I'm Coming." The lawyer's letter pointed out that Hayes' estate and family had never authorized Trump to use Hayes' music.

Hayes' estate's lawyers pointed out that the $3 million request was a "very favorable fee," and that the song's typical usage fee is $150,000. Based on the number of times the song was used by the Trump campaign, the total amount that could be awarded if a lawsuit is filed "would be 10 times that." The lawyers also warned that if they did not receive a response by August 16, they would formally file a lawsuit against the Trump campaign.

The day before the letter was sent, Hayes' son Isaac Hayes III posted on social media, condemning the Trump team for the unauthorized use of his father's songs at campaign rallies in Atlanta, Georgia and Bozeman, Montana, and vowed to take legal action.

On August 10, Hayes III posted on the social platform X, "Today is the anniversary of the death of my father Isaac Hayes. We have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the Republican National Committee and its representatives not to use "Hold on I'm Coming" written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter at campaign rallies, but in Montana, they used the song again... We will now deal with this matter quickly."

On August 11, Hayes III posted an announcement that he would sue Trump and his campaign team through his attorney, accusing them of "unauthorized use of the song "Hold on I'm Coming" at campaign rallies from 2022 to 2024", totaling 134 copyright infringements. "We demand that the use be stopped, all related videos be deleted, a disclaimer be made public, and $3 million in copyright royalties be paid by August 16, 2024. Failure to comply will result in further legal action," the post read.

The report said that the Trump camp has not yet responded to this.