Sonic musician suing Sega of America over song rights

Sega of America is facing a lawsuit from one of its long-running musical partners: Johnny Gioeli, a member of the rock band Crush 40.

Game Developer reports that Gioeli is suing the publisher over its use of the song ‘Live & Learn,’ which is used at the main theme for 2001 Dreamcast title Sonic Adventure 2.

Gioei is claiming ownership of the song, alleging 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 various 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 the use of the song outside of 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 recognises that ‘Live & Learn’ may be jointly owned by himself and Sega, but argues 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 these instances had “specific agreements” that established who owned the rights and master recordings for those pieces.