A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump campaign, requiring them to stop using Isaac Hayes' song "Hold On, I'm Coming" at campaign events.

The ruling, made by Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. in Atlanta, comes after the Isaac Hayes estate filed a lawsuit seeking emergency action to prevent the song's use. While the campaign must cease future use of the song, they are not required to remove existing videos containing it.

The 1966 song, co-written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and performed by Sam & Dave, has been used as 'outro' music at Trump campaign events since 2020. The Hayes estate claims the campaign lacks proper licensing, despite the campaign's assertion of having valid PRO licenses through BMI.

Key points of the case:

• The Hayes estate argues the campaign lacks proper performance licenses
• The estate specifically removed rights through BMI's political exclusion clause
• The Republican National Committee disputes the Hayes estate's ownership of the song
• The campaign has agreed to stop using the song rather than pursue further legal action

Trump campaign attorney Ronald Coleman stated, "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."

Isaac Hayes III responded to the ruling: "We are very grateful and happy for the decision by Judge Thrash. 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."

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