Neil Young is suing the Donald Trump fundraising committee for playing one of his songs at a Trump rally – six years after previously suing a different Trump organisation for playing the same song.
The musician, 80, is a long-time critic of the US president, as recently as last year expressing fears that he could be barred from re-entering the country following an international tour as he is a dual US-Canadian citizen. Now, he has sued a Trump committee for $10m, claiming that the continued playing of his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” breaches a prior settlement over Trump usage of the track.
The suit claims that Young sued a different corporation formed by the president, Donald J Trump for President Inc, in 2020 for copyright infringement of his songs. “Donald J Trump for President Inc asserted no defence and immediately settled shortly after it was served,” the lawsuit states, “promising that it would never again use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ without a licence and permission from Young.” This new lawsuit does not specify any further terms of the settlement.
“Rockin’ in the Free World” is described in the suit as “a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten”, adding: “The song is the opposite of everything that Donald J Trump stands for.”
Citing a claim that Trump’s use of the song might suggest Young himself is a Trump supporter, the suit asks for an injunction against further public performance for political purposes, as well as $10m (£7.5m) in damages.
Young is far from the only high-profile musician to take legal action against the Trump administration for playing their songs without authorisation at campaign rallies or across their social media communications.
In 2024, The White Stripes dropped a federal lawsuit filed against Trump for playing their hit song “Seven Nation Army” in a campaign ad.
Others have filed copyright infringement complaints against Trump, which usually result in videos – whether they be ads or footage of rallies – being taken down. In 2024, Swedish pop legends Abba demanded immediate takedown of clips from a Trump rally in St Cloud, Minnesota, during which several of the band’s hits were played. An image of the group was also projected onto a backdrop at the event, as a gesture to the fact that Minnesota has the highest population of Swedish-Americans in the country.
In August, an Ariana Grande song was removed from a Team Trump TikTok post after she and her team made a copyright complaint. Soundtracked to Grande’s 2024 hit “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)”, the video was overlaid with text riffing on the song’s lyrics and reading: “Me and my truth we sit in silence...Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.”
“Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false,” Grande wrote in a comment under the video.
In June, Grande called out the White House for using her song “Bye” in a social media post promoting ICE arrests, and described the video as “barbaric”.
She commented on the post: “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F*** ICE.”
In December 2025, Sabrina Carpenter condemned the White House’s use of her song “Juno” in an ICE arrest video as “evil and disgusting”, adding: “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
A month earlier, Olivia Rodrigo criticised the White House and the Department of Homeland Security after officials used her song “All-American B****” in a video urging undocumented migrants to “self-deport”, writing: “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”
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