Neil Young Files Lawsuit Against Trump 2020 Campaign for Using His Music at Events

Singer-songwriter Neil Young, 74, filed a lawsuit against the Trump 2020 campaign for copyright infringement. Trump has repeatedly used Young’s music at official events. This made the rocker sue for up to $150,000 in statutory damages for each infringement.

The suit cited the songs “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” specifically. In a previous statement, Young cited the campaign using “Rockin’” as a reason for potential legal action, Fox News reported.

Unauthorized Use

The suit “claimed that the songs have been used regularly at campaign events,” according to Fox News. These include “the highly-publicized June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.”

“This complaint is not intended to disrespect the rights and opinions of American citizens, who are free to support the candidate of their choosing,” says the copyright infringement complaint filed in New York federal court. “However, Plaintiff in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate,” it then went on to say.

The Guardian reported that Young posted details of the lawsuit on his official site. It details him “continuously and publicly” objecting to Trump using his music. He also said that this went as far back as 2015.

“The Campaign has willfully ignored Plaintiff’s telling it not to play the songs and willfully proceeded to play the songs despite a lack of license,” it reads.

Young published a blog post last month, criticizing Trump over the use of his music.

“Imagine what it feels like to hear Rockin’ in the Free World after this president speaks, like it is his theme song,” he wrote. “I did not write it for that,” he also mentioned.

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