Neil Young has filed a $10 million lawsuit Monday against Donald J. Trump‘s political action committee, Trump 47 Committee Inc., alleging copyright infringement for the ongoing use of Young’s song “Rockin’ in the Free World” as the president’s walkup music at midterm election rallies.
If it feels like (to quote a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song) “we have all been here before,” the deja vu comes from the fact that 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, only for Trump to continue to play it again now, in violation of the agreed-upon terms of the prior settlement, according to Young’s suit.
The suit says the classic 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. The lyrics pain vivid street-level portraits — a mother discarding her baby, addicts lost in despair, garbage piling in the shadows of prosperity — while the repeated chorus delivers a savage irony, celebrating freedom that clearly isn’t shared by all. In short, the song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”
Variety has reviewed the suit, which was filed by Young against the Trump 47 Committee Monday in the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Virginia. It specifically cites the playing of the song at the president’s rally in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 12, although it 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.
It says that Trump “is now and at the time of all rallies this year was personally aware that a license would be required to play the song at rallies and that Young has not, and would not, grant the required license.” The suit then goes on to state that in 2020 Young sued a different corporation formed by the president, Donald J. Trump for President Inc,, for copyright infringement of “Rock'” plus another song of Young’s.
“Donald J. Trump for President Inct. asserted no defense and immediate;y settled shortly after it was served, promising that it would never again use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ without a license and permission from Young.” This new lawsuit does not specify any financial or other terms of the 2020 settlement.
“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.
Young has been among the most vocal of all musicians going public with vociferous opposition to Trump, making it difficult to know whether the president’s ongoing use of Young’s most famously anti-Republican song is being done out of ignorance or as a deliberate finger in the rocker’s face.
Of course, the White House has often deliberately trolled pop stars this year by using their songs in videos promoting ICE or the war in Iran, then mocking the musicians when they speak up on social media.