Neil Young drops his lawsuit against Donald Trump campaign

Neil Young has dropped his lawsuit against the Donald Trump campaign‘s use of his songs at campaign rallies. The New York Times‘ Ben Sisario tweeted a screenshot of legal documents saying that Young “voluntarily dismisses all of his claims against Donald J Trump for President, Inc with prejudice, with each party to bear its own costs, fees, and expenses.” The Hollywood Reporter notes that “with prejudice” means claims cannot be renewed and is a “strong sign of a settlement.” Trump’s lawyers were due in court today (12/7) to respond to Young’s claims.

Trump has used Neil Young’s songs, like “Rockin’ in the Free World,” at rallies for years, and the musician finally sued the campaign in August, saying, in part, that the campaign used his songs at a Tulsa rally and “willfully ignored [Young] telling it not to play the Songs and willfully proceeded to play the Songs despite its lack of a license and despite its knowledge that a license is required to do so.”

The Trump campaign used lots of artists’ songs without permission at rallies, many of whom objected to it, too, including  The Village People, Phil Collins, John Fogerty, and Eddie Grant.