Neil Young sues Trump committee for $10 million over use of Rockin' in the Free World
The Canadian rocker alleges his 1989 anthem was played without permission at a recent Ohio rally, violating a 2020 settlement.
Neil Young has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against former U.S. president Donald Trump's political fundraising committee. The suit, filed Monday in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleges the Trump 47 Committee, Inc. played Young's 1989 song Rockin' in the Free World without a licence at an Oct. 12 rally in Youngstown, Ohio. The complaint states the song was also used "numerously" at other rallies designed to encourage Republican votes in the upcoming midterm elections. Young is seeking $10 million US in damages and an injunction to stop the committee from playing his music.
The lawsuit describes the 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." It argues the song's lyrics, which include portrayals of a discarded baby and addicts in despair, deliver "a savage irony, celebrating freedom that clearly isn't shared by all." The filing concludes, "In short, the song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for." This marks the second time Young has sued a Trump-associated entity over the song's use. In 2020, he sued the corporation Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. for using Rockin' in the Free World and another track, Devil's Sidewalk, at campaign rallies. That case was settled, with the campaign promising "that it would never again use Rockin' in the Free World without a licence and permission from Young," according to Monday's new filing. The new complaint alleges the Trump committee "has willfully proceeded" to play the track again despite lacking a licence and knowing one is required.
The Toronto-born musician, a dual Canadian-American citizen and vocal critic of Trump, argues the unauthorized use has damaged his reputation. "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 states. Young has repeatedly criticized the former president, including in a 2025 protest song titled Big Crime. Lyrics from that song include "don't need no fascist rules, don't want no fascist schools" and "got to get the fascists out, got to clean the White House out." Young first objected to Trump using Rockin' in the Free World in 2015, when it was played to launch Trump's initial bid for the Republican presidential nomination. At that time, Trump staffers said they had secured permission from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, but ASCAP's guidance notes that artists may still take legal action if they object to a campaign's use of their work. The Trump team cut the song in 2015 but reintroduced it in 2020, prompting the first lawsuit.
Young is far from the only artist to object to the Trump campaign using their music. A wide range of recording artists have bristled at the practice, including the Rolling Stones, Queen, Pharrell Williams, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, and the estates of Leonard Cohen and ABBA. More recently, Trump staffers have used newer music for rallies and social media posts, earning censure from Sabrina Carpenter, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Ariana Grande. In June, Grande called out the administration for using her music, writing, "Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense," after her song Bye was used in a TikTok about Trump's immigration policy. The Trump administration has not yet responded to Young's latest lawsuit. The case seeks attorney's fees and a court order prohibiting the defendant from playing Rockin' in the Free World or any other music from Young's catalog at its events.
With files from CBC News, Global News and The Guardian