Summary
- Singer and songwriter Johnny Gioeli is suing Sega over the use of Sonic Adventure 2’s ‘Live and Learn’ in other games.
- Gioeli claims that Sega only paid for the rights to the song’s lyrics and not the rest of the composition.
- Damages from Sega’s apparent breach of contract could cost the company over $500,000.
Johnny Gioeli, the singer and songwriter for some of the most iconic Sonic the Hedgehog themes, is now suing Sega over the use of Sonic Adventure 2’s “Live and Learn.” Modern Sonic the Hedgehog fans are likely very familiar with Gioeli and his work, as he has helped produce rousing rock anthems for the 3D Sonic games as part of the band Crush 40. This music has since become near-synonymous with the franchise, and Gioeli has even performed the themes he helped create live on many occasions.
One of Crush 40’s most notable Sonic tracks is “Live and Learn,” the main theme of 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2 that plays during the final boss battle between the team of Sonic and Shadow and the monstrous Biolizard. Like many Sonic the Hedgehog songs over the years, “Live and Learn” is beloved by fans who grew up playing the 3D games, and it has been reused multiple times since its initial debut. It was sampled briefly in the 2005 spin-off Shadow the Hedgehog, and is available to listen to in entries like Sonic Generations and Sonic Frontiers through in-game jukeboxes.
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Unfortunately, the song has now reentered the public consciousness for less-than-ideal reasons, as Johnny Gioeli recently announced that he is suing Sega of America over the use of “Live and Learn” in other games. As reported by Polygon, Gioeli claims that Sega only paid for the rights to the song’s lyrics and not the rest of the composition, meaning that using the track in full without paying him royalties is a breach of contract. He also stated that he was unaware of this usage, which encompasses at least 25 different Sega games.
Johnny Gioeli is Suing Sega for ‘Live and Learn’
Gioeli says that he only knew about the use of “Live and Learn” in Sonic Adventure 2, with a fan pointing out to him later that the song has appeared in other Sonic titles since. He also states that he owns the master recording of “Live and Learn,” which is credited to Crush 40 and not Sega. He adds that he has maintained and registered the rights to said recording for decades with music licensing agency BMI, and that he owns the copyright. As Gioeli puts it, the rest of Crush 40’s Sonic-related work was made under more specific agreements that fully covered rights for the master recordings and compositions.
This seemingly wasn’t the case for Sonic Adventure 2’s popular vocal track, hence the current lawsuit filed by Johnny Gioeli earlier this month. He says that he is simply asking a court to determine who truly owns the masters of the song and to compensate him for the lost fees from its use in later games. Gioeli’s lawyer says that damages for Sega’s apparent breach of contract could be over $500,000, on top of restitution for the unpaid royalties that could run the same amount. Sega of America has yet to comment on this story at this time.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog is a prolific game franchise that started life on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Covering both 2D and 3D iterations through the generations, Sonic is known for speedy movements and interesting platforming mechanics.
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