The 2024 election is full of controversies, from policy issues to debates. So it should come as no surprise that the music being played at rallies is also facing some scrutiny.
Music has played a larger than usual role this year, like at the Democratic National Convention, where the traditional roll call featured songs for every state delegation. But each one of those roll call songs had legal permission to be played.
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If you don't have permission to play a song, you run the risk of a lawsuit. And that is where the Trump campaign and other conservative groups are facing new questions about their musical selection.
The family of the late Isaac Hayes says that Trump and others have played the song "Hold On I'm Coming" at rallies more than 100 times in recent years without proper permission.
Lawyers representing the Trump campaign are expected in an Atlanta courtroom Sept. 3 for an emergency hearing. Isaac Hayes III spoke with Scripps News recently about this legal fight.
"He wouldn't want it to be used by the former president," Hayes said of his late father. "There have been other instances where people have tried to use his music in the past. They were denied."
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Hayes is requesting a $3 million payout for the song's repeated use. Meanwhile, Trump's lawyers have argued in past cases that they have the right to play songs of their choosing.
This isn't the former president's first fight with artists over music.
Rolling Stone reports that Beyoncé's legal team has threatened a cease-and-desist letter after a Trump staffer recently used her song "Freedom" in an online post. The Foo Fighters and Celine Dion have also expressed disapproval over the use of their songs by the Trump campaign.
While there are no current complaints against Vice President Kamala Harris' song choices, in 2008, former President Barack Obama did stop playing a song after a controversy. Ironically, it's the same song Trump's lawyers are in court for next week: "Hold On I'm Coming."
