Musician Johnny Gioeli from the band Crush 40 has filed a lawsuit against SEGA. He accuses the company of using the main theme he wrote for Sonic Adventure 2 in other projects without a license and failing to pay due royalties.
Sonic Adventure 2
The issue concerns the song Live and Learn. According to Gioeli, he has held the exclusive copyright for 23 years over the "original recording and musical composition" itself. His contract with SEGA only covers the lyrics. Under the agreement, the distribution was limited to Sonic Adventure 2, its promotional content, and related products.
Notably, Gioeli received $3,000 for writing the lyrics for what was then an unnamed track. And that was it.
However, as stated in the lawsuit, further collaboration with SEGA regarding the future hit went far beyond the agreement. No additional amendments were made to the contract.
It's worth noting that the only company representative he worked directly with on Live and Learn was the composer of many franchise games — Jun Senoue. Later, Senoue became the guitarist for the jointly formed Crush 40.
What happened next? Gioeli received a "demo" from Senoue with the instrumental melody set to the finished lyrics. Senoue then re-recorded the draft version several times under Gioeli’s guidance. Gioeli handled all other creative stages — he personally arranged, produced the overall composition, recorded, and performed the vocals for the track. No one from SEGA participated in this process.
Gioeli emphasizes that it was a fruitful collaboration, but not solely SEGA’s creation. As a result, without his knowledge, the Japanese company inexplicably took full ownership of all rights to Live and Learn.
Allegedly, Gioeli was unaware that his hit was used in at least 25 projects over the years. Among them are several Yakuza installments, the mobile Sonic at the Olympic Games, the Phantasy Star Online series, and even Monster Hunter Rise by Capcom. Some of these games had a purely local scope and were not widely distributed outside Japan.
Moreover, according to the lawsuit, SEGA licensed the track to a third party — Nintendo, for its Super Smash Bros. The author did not give permission for this either.
Besides, Live and Learn is not the only soundtrack Gioeli created for SEGA. He also worked on compositions for the original Sonic Adventure and NASCAR Arcade. However, his other songs for games were covered by more detailed agreements, which he has no issues with.
Previously, Gioeli’s lawyer confirmed that the song mentioned was the result of "joint work," so the artist could claim 50% of SEGA's profits from the track. The company, in turn, refused to recognize Gioeli as the owner (or even co-owner) of the composition.
The lawsuit indicates that the incurred damage is estimated at over $500,000 for unpaid royalties and other fees.
Gioeli commented to Polygon. "My main desire is to preserve the long and wonderful friendship with SEGA. I do not want fans to make hasty conclusions or have their cherished memories associated with this music ruined. I trust and hope that we will reach an amicable resolution that is fair and just for both sides," the musician states.
SEGA has not yet commented on the situation.