There’s just a couple of days left before Sonic the Hedgehog 3 premieres in theaters. One part of the movie that fans have been looking forward to is the appearance of “Live and Learn”, the very popular theme song of Sonic Adventure 2, which originally released in 2001. The song was done by Crush 40, who are Jun Senoue and Johnny Gioeli.
Unfortunately, the latter isn’t thrilled with SEGA’s recent actions. In fact, Gioeli has sued SEGA of America for breach of contract, saying that SEGA’s rights to the song only involve the lyrics. Gioeli says that he’s the owner of the “master recording and composition” of the song. Because of this, Gioeli claims that SEGA doesn’t have the correct licenses to use the song, meaning that SEGA hasn’t compensated him for the song’s usage in at least 25 different games over the years.
So, why is Gioeli suing now? Gioeli says in the lawsuit that he simply wasn’t aware that SEGA was doing this. He was told that the song would be used in Sonic Adventure 2 and nowhere else. It wasn’t until this year that he learned through a fan that the song has been getting used in many other games, such as Yakuza 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Gioeli is asking the court to determine who is the owner of the masters, followed by compensation he wants for lost fees he would have gotten from SEGA for licensing the song. Gioeli’s lawyer says that, should there be a ruling for a breach of contract, damages could reach up to $500,000. There could also be another $500,000 for restitution for unpaid royalties.
Gioeli later gave a statement to Polygon, saying that “I have no comment other than my desire to maintain the preservation of a long standing beautiful relationship with Sega. I do not want fans to draw conclusions or be disrupted from the beautiful memories we have made collectively with this music. I believe and hope we will come to a peaceful settlement that will be fair and just”. As for the upcoming Sonic movie, Gioeli already confirmed in February that he and Paramount reached a deal, and that “Paramount now has the legal right to use ‘Live and Learn’ in any manner they feel necessary”. So, the lawsuit is strictly related to SEGA and their usage of the song in video games.
This will not end well. He was told before that it was going to be in the third film.
Crush 40 is killing it
If you mean killing it with their incompetence then you are right.
ARE YOU HERE TO TAKE MY JOB BROTHER?!
Sorry. I meant to say they were crushing it.
uh…
Open Your Heart
MY NINTENDO NEWS HEROEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS, MY NINTENDO NEWS HEROESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Hey big guy
can you tell me what’s inside
Die and ignore.
IM NOT TALKING WITH YOU, IM TALKING WITH THAT GREEN BASTARD WHO STOLE MY TOTALLY FUNNY AND ORIGINAL JOKE THAT I DID NOT OVERUSE AT ALL
Huh. Well then.
I find it very hard to believe that he didn’t know it had been used in other games. Crush 40 have been involved with Sega and Sonic fans for a very long time now. But it never got out to him that this song has been used many times since SA2 (including in some iconic ways, like when Sonic was first revealed for Smash).
But it’ll still be in the movie, right?
Have you considered reading the article? What you find may surprise even you.
First Michael Jackson and now a C-list singer…
Strange right?
Weirder than you replying to me when i said that i don’t want to bother replying to you?
One would assume that you may regard Gioeli as better than Elvis.
Man Crush 40s music may be my favorite memory concerning Sonic games. Hope he gets the compensation he deserves.
… Always fucking up somewhere, eh, Sega?
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read so far this year. If anyone believes Bray tigger will be in a position of strength in five years, Ignorance is bliss, I guess. She can barely buy 10% of her hookers, for god’s sake. Brey Trugger is also trying to sell her insurance back to her family, lol. Wake up ponys.