Sega of America is being sued by Johnny Gioeli, musician of the rock band Crush 40. The group is best known for creating Sonic Adventure 2 theme, “Live and learn“, and he alleges that Sega is in breach of contract on the iconic song. In addition to seeking financial compensation from Sega, he wants the court to “conclusively establish” who owns the song.
In the Lawsuit filed in December, Gioeli claims to own “the master recording and composition of the song”, which he allegedly created and produced in his own house without any involvement from Sega. It further accuses the publisher of “exploiting and licensing” the song for more than two dozen games, shows and live performances without its knowledge.
Gioeli states that he first became aware of the song's presence in other media earlier this year. On the gaming side, “Live & Learn” was presented in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U versions of Super Smash Bros.4, And Yakuza 4 And 5. Its inclusion in the non-Sonic Adventure 2 the titles are as recent as those of 2021 Rise of the Monster Hunters from Capcom.
Since 2001, Crush 40 has become commonly associated with the Sonic franchise and has created songs for later Sonic games like Sonic Heroes And Shade the hedgehog. However, he argued that in those cases he and Sega had made “specific agreements” regarding the rights to those songs or the master recordings, which had not been the case with “Live & Learn.”
The lawsuit acknowledges that “Live & Learn” may be jointly owned by both parties. If this were the case, Sega's ownership would be “expressly limited to the lyrics themselves.”
“Without a direct claim to authorship of the master, without direct control or involvement in the process of creating the final master recording, and without a clear written transfer of the master, (Sega) has no reason to claim exclusive ownership of the rights copyright on this sound recording,” the suit reads. He further cited an earlier statement from a Sega lawyer that the rights to the song belong to Gioeli “and not Sega, and we have no rights to these materials.”
Despite this and a letter from another Sega lawyer who called the song a “joint work” in April, Gioeli claims Sega refuses to name him owner or give him 50 percent of the song's profits to which he is entitled. .
Johnny Gioeli's full lawsuit against Sega of America can be read here.
