Neil Young Sues Trump for $10 Million Over Use of “Rockin’ in the Free World”

Neil Young has spent more than a decade telling Donald Trump to stop playing “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Now, he says the president and his political operation once again ignored a legal agreement to do exactly that. Young filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit against the Trump 47 Committee on Monday after the song was allegedly played without a license before Trump took the stage at an October 12th midterm campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio. The complaint seeks $10 million in damages and an order barring the committee from using Young’s music going forward. This isn’t Young’s legal team’s first trip around the block. Young previously sued Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign over its use of “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” at campaign events. According to the new complaint, that case was resolved after the campaign promised not to use “Rockin’ in the Free World” again without a license. The fight stretches back to the beginning. Trump used “Rockin’ in the Free World” when he launched his first presidential campaign at Trump Tower in June 2015, prompting Young to publicly object. Even then, Trump’s campaign subsequently said it would stop using the song. Young’s...