Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young has filed a $10 million lawsuit against a political action committee (PAC) backing President Donald Trump for unauthorized use of his music.
Young wrote and is the copyright co-owner of “Rockin’ in the Free World,” which played prior to Trump taking stage at a political rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Oct. 12.
According to the lawsuit, the Trump 47 Committee Inc. “has caused the Song to be played numerous times at other rallies designed to encourage Republican votes in the upcoming mid-term elections.”
“The Committee does not now have, and did not at the time of the Youngstown Rally or any other rally financed and conducted by the Committee, have a license or Young’s permission to play the Song at any public political event,” the filing states.
Back in 2020, Young sued an entity backing Trump for using “Rockin’ in the Free World” and another song without permission and thereby infringing copyright. The entity settled the matter and promised not to play the song without a license and permission from Young, the lawsuit said.
The Trump 47 Committee has “willfully proceeded to cause the Song to be played despite its lack of a license and despite its knowledge that a license is required to do so,” the complaint alleged.
The complaint accused the defendants of violating Title 17 of the U.S. Code, which deals with copyright protections, as well as Title 28 of U.S. Code Sections 1400 and 1338, which are also related to copyrights. In addition to the committee, certain unnamed individuals are listed as defendants in the case.
The lawsuit asked the court to permanently enjoin defendants from performing any musical composition owned by Young at any event carried out by the committee. In addition to seeking $10 million in damages, Young seeks funds to cover lawsuit costs.
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Republican National Committee for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Courts have previously ruled against the Trump team in other cases involving the use of music in his political campaigns.
One such case was brought by musician Eddy Grant over the use of his song in a Trump video during the 2020 presidential campaign. The 55-second video was posted in August 2020 to Trump’s account on X, then called Twitter. After the Trump campaign failed to take down the post after being asked, Grant sued.
In September 2024, a federal court ruled in favor of Grant.
The same month, a federal judge from Atlanta issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump campaign from using a song from singer Isaac Hayes. The presidential campaign from Trump chose not to appeal, saying it respected the ruling.
Ron Coleman, a lawyer for the campaign, pointed out at the time that the fact it was an election year may have had something to do with it.
“I think it’s just as conceivable that the timing was used as a pressure point as much as being the result of frank political motivations,” he said.
In the United States, the licensing of many musical works is handled by four major performing rights organizations—the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; Broadcast Music Inc.; the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers; and Global Music Rights. In some cases, licensing agreements can exclude the use of music from being played at political campaign events.
Political events may need to secure a separate license. For instance, Broadcast Music Inc.’s Political Entities license allows more than 25 million songs in its catalogue to be used by political campaigns and organizations.
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