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Neil Young is once again suing over Rockin’ in the Free World being played at U.S. President Donald Trump’s political rallies, six years after their last go-around.
Attorneys for the rock icon filed on Monday a copyright infringement lawsuit against fundraising group Trump 47 Committee, Inc., in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The complaint alleges unauthorized use of Young’s 1989 song at an Oct. 12 Trump rally in Youngstown, Ohio, “and at other rallies designed to encourage votes in the upcoming mid-term elections.”
The filing describes the driving track as “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 paint vivid street-level portraits … 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.”
U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Oct. 12. (Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images)
Yet Rockin’ in the Free World seems to be a go-to for Trump, whose staffers have repeatedly played the song at his events over the years.
Back in 2015, he used it to launch his initial bid for the Republican nomination for president — and was quickly blasted by Young, a vocal critic and activist.
At that time, Trump staffers said they’d secured permission from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for the track’s use, but the organization’s guidance notes that even with a licence, artists may still take legal action if they object to being associated with a particular campaign. In addition to securing a licence, ASCAP urges campaigns to secure permission from the artist and/or songwriters.
Though the Trump team cut the song from its playlist in 2015, they added it and another track — Devil’s Sidewalk — anew in 2020, prompting Young to file a lawsuit against the entity Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., for using his music without permission.
ABBA has joined a growing list of artists demanding that the Trump campaign stop using their music. Although Trump asserts he has a licence to play their songs, some legal experts say artists have the right to challenge this use.
He dropped the suit after the Trump team quickly moved to settle and had promised “that it would never again use Rockin’ in the Free World without a licence and permission from Young,” according to Monday’s filing.
Yet the Trump committee “has willfully proceeded” to play the track again recently despite lack of a licence and knowledge that one is required, the complaint continues.
Young is calling for $10 million US in damages, attorney’s fees and a prohibition on the defendant from playing Rockin’ in the Free World — plus any other music from the dual Canadian-American rocker’s catalog — at its events.
Over the years, a wide range of recording artists — from Céline Dion to Aerosmith, ABBA to the estate of Leonard Cohen — have bristled at their music being used to hype up audiences at Trump rallies, with the Rolling Stones, Queen, Pharrell Williams, John Fogerty and Tom Petty among the high-profile performers who’ve objected (some repeatedly) through cease-and-desist letters and threatened lawsuits.
More recently, Trump staffers have tapped newer music as well for rallies and social media posts. They’ve earned censure and/or takedown requests from the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Ariana Grande, some of whom have been trolled repeatedly in Trump team online posts.
