Sega of America is facing a lawsuit from one of its long-time music partners: Johnny Gioeli, a member of the rock band Crush 40.
Game Developer reports that Gioeli is suing the publisher over the use of the song ‘Live & Learn’, which is used in the theme song for the 2001 Dreamcast title Sonic Adventure 2.
Gioei claims ownership of the song, claiming that he composed, recorded and produced the song at home without Sega’s involvement. He even claims to have the original master recording.
While the song is best known for its use in Sonic Adventure 2, it has since been used in several Super Smash Bros. games where Sonic appears as a playable character, as well as Sega’s Yakuza titles and even Capcom’s Monster Hunter Rise. .
Gioeli is seeking financial compensation, claiming that use of the song outside the original game is a breach of his contract with Sony, as well as asking the court to “conclusively establish” who owns it.
The musician acknowledges that ‘Live & Learn’ may be jointly owned by him and Sega, but argues that Sega’s rights are “expressly limited to the lyrics themselves.”
Crush 40 has worked with Sega for 23 years on various songs for Sonic games, but Gioeli claims that these instances had “specific agreements” establishing who owned the rights and master recordings for those pieces.
