The family and estate of late soul and funk singer Isaac Hayes has ordered Donald Trump to stop using the Hayes-penned song 'Hold On, I'm Comin'' at campaign rallies.

A letter sent to Trump and his campaign team, shared by Hayes' son Isaac Hayes III, threatens Trump with legal action if he continues to use the 1966 Sam & Dave song, written by Hayes and David Porter. It alleges copyright infringement, demanding $3m in licensing fees incurred from the use of the song at campaign rallies between 2022-2024.

The letter, from lawyer James Walker, alleges that the Trump campaign "willfully and brazenly engaged in copyright infringement", and continued to use the song "despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use by our client”.

Walker alleges that the song has been used so frequently that the $3m figure is “heavily discounted”. The letter states that if a resolution is not made and a lawsuit is then issued, the Hayes family will also demand damages of $150,000 per use of the song.

On Saturday, Hayes III wrote that Trump – who has previously been filmed dancing to Hold On, I’m Comin’ – used the song in a Montana rally despite being asked not to. “We will now deal with this very swiftly … Donald Trump represents the worst in integrity and class with his disrespect and sexual abuse of women and racist rhetoric.”

We the family of @isaachayes Isaac Hayes Enterprises, represented by Walker & Associates, are suing @realDonaldTrump and his campaign for 134 counts copyright infringement for the unauthorized use of the song “Hold On I’m Coming” at campaign rallies from 2022-2024.

We demand… pic.twitter.com/GOBLz7ejYL

— Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) August 11, 2024

In 2022, the Hayes family first criticised Trump for using the song at a National Rifle Association (NRA) convention, less than a week after the Uvalde school shooting in Texas, where 19 students died. “Our condolences go out to the victims and families of Uvalde and mass shooting victims everywhere,” they wrote.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is no stranger to this.  Several artists and songwriters have objected to his campaign's use of their songs at political rallies since he first ran for president in 2015 - among them The Smiths' Johnny Marr, Eminem, The Rolling Stones, and Steven Tyler. In February, the estate of Sinéad O'Connor implored Donald Trump to stop using her music at his political rallies, after her song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' was played at a campaign rally. In an interview with Hot Press in 2021, O'Connor expressed her long-standing hatred for Trump, saying:  "I actually do believe Donald Trump is the biblical Devil, the fucker.”

Just this weekend, Celine Dion's team issued a statement on X after her song 'My Heart Will Go On' was used at a Trump-Vance campaign rally in Montana.

In the statement, Dion's team said she did not "endorse" the use of the song, adding: "And really, that song?"

Legally, US politicians do not always need direct permission from artists. Their campaigns can buy licensing packages from music rights organisations giving them legal access to more than 20 million songs.

However, artists have the right to remove their music from that list.