Neil Young launches another lawsuit against Trump fundraising committee over rally song use
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Neil Young alleges the Trump 47 Committee played his 1989 song "Rockin’ in the Free World" at an Ohio rally without permission and is seeking $10 million in damages.
Canadian musician Neil Young has filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit against the Trump 47 Committee, the political fundraising arm supporting U.S. President Donald Trump. The complaint, filed in a Virginia federal court, says the committee played Young’s 1989 track "Rockin’ in the Free World" at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Oct. 12 without obtaining a proper license.
"On information and belief, the committee has caused the song to be played numerous times at other rallies designed to encourage Republican votes in the upcoming mid-term elections," the filing states.
The suit says the song’s use misrepresents Young’s views and seeks $10 million in damages. It notes that the song was recently recognized by Rolling Stone as Vintage Rock Song of 2026 and has been performed live by artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Dave Matthews.
This is Young’s second lawsuit over the same issue. In 2020 he sued Trump’s re-election campaign for using "Rockin’ in the Free World" and "Devil’s Sidewalk" without permission; that case was settled with the campaign agreeing not to play the songs at future events.
Young, who has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, also released a protest song titled "Big Crime" in 2025, targeting the administration’s policies. The filing argues that repeated use of his music at Trump rallies could damage his reputation by implying support for the president’s agenda.
Other musicians, including Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift, have previously objected to the use of their songs by Trump-related campaigns, citing similar concerns over unauthorized usage.