Neil Young has filed a $10 million (£7.5 million) lawsuit against Donald J. Trump’s political action committee, Trump 47 Committee Inc.
The suit alleges copyright infringement for the ongoing use of Young’s song Rockin’ in the Free World as the president’s walk-up music at midterm election rallies.
This is Young’s second time filing suit against Trump over his unlicensed appropriation of Rockin’ in the Free World. The first was in 2020, and that lawsuit was settled.
Trump has continued to play it, against the terms of the prior settlement, according to Young’s suit.
The suit claims the 1989 song is “a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten. In short, the song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”
Variety reports that the lawsuit cites the playing of the song at the president’s rally in Youngstown, Ohio on 12 October, although notes that the recording has also been played “numerous times at other rallies designed to encourage Republican votes in the upcoming mid-term elections”. It asks for an injunction against further public performance for political purposes as well as the $10 million in damages for the existing use.
“Among other things, Young has suffered damage to his reputation and brand as a result of the implication that he supports Donald J. Trump in any way,” the suit contends.
