Sega Being Sued Over Popular Sonic the Hedgehog Song

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS FOR SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 AHEAD.

A lawsuit has been filed against Sega in the state of California over a popular song from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. According to reporting from Polygon, Crush 40 member John Gioeli has filed a suit against Sega over the use of the track “Live and Learn,” which first appeared in the Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure 2. Gioeli claims that he is the rightful owner of the “master recording and composition” of the track, and was unaware of its use across various Sonic media. In the lawsuit, lawyers for Gioeli bring up the song’s use in not only games released by Sega, but also the fact that it has been licensed out to Nintendo for use in the Super Smash Bros. franchise.

The lawsuit by Gioeli alleges that his original agreement with Sega only covered the creation of the lyrics to “Live and Learn,” for which he was paid $3,000. However, his lawsuit claims that he “ended up arranging, producing, recording, and performing vocals,” and that all of this was done “using his own equipment without the supervision, control, or involvement of the Defendant.” It goes on to say that there has never been an “agreement purporting to transfer the master recording rights to Defendant.” This is the basis for Gioeli’s claim that he owns the master recording, and he has also argued that the overall “composition is likely jointly owned.”

Gioeli is seeking $500,000 from Sega for breach of contract, $500,000 in restitution fees, attorney fees, and judgement on whether or not he is the owner of the master recordings, and joint owner of the composition. It should be noted that this deal has nothing to do with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. While the track does appear at multiple points throughout the movie, Gioeli confirmed to Aftermath earlier this year that the song’s use had been licensed by Paramount. Instead, this relates solely to the song’s use in other Sonic media, such as video games and TV shows.

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It remains to be seen how this lawsuit will shake out, but Sonic fans are already voicing their concerns about future collaborations between Sega and Crush 40. The band’s music has been closely associated with the Dreamcast era, and there has been a lot of excitement about it appearing in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Hopefully both parties can come to a fair agreement that properly compensates Gioeli for his contributions to the franchise, while allowing “Live and Learn” to continue appearing across Sonic media. This is not the first lawsuit against Sega relating to a well-regarded aspect of the Sonic franchise, and fans can hardly be blamed for having concerns about history repeating itself. Thankfully, Gioeli says that he’s hoping for an amicable agreement between the two parties.

“I have no comment other than my desire to maintain the preservation of a long standing beautiful relationship with Sega,” Gioeli told Polygon in a statement. “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.”

Are you hoping Sega and Gioeli can resolve the situation? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!