John Gioeli, the writer of the theme song “Live and Learn” from Sonic Adventure 2, is suing SEGA, claiming he owns the rights to the song in part, and alleging the company has been using the song without his permission and making money off of it for the past two decades.
Gioeli asserts that he has maintained songwriting registration for the track for more than 20 years since he first wrote and recorded “Live and Learn” from Sonic Adventure 2. However, he says SEGA has been improperly claiming it is the actual owner of the song and behaving as such, including licensing the song to “at least 25 video games, television shows, live performances/events, and films.
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Specifically, Gioeli’s suit claims that SEGA is basing its ownership of Live and Learn off “a 2001 lyric agreement where Gioeli was paid $3000 to write lyrics for an as-yet-untitled song that would be included in Sonic Adventure 2.” He did so at his home studio, using his own equipment and own vocals, allegedly without SEGA’s direct involvement. He did work with SEGA composer Jun Senoue over the phone, with Senoue initially sending him a music demo that Gioeli was supposed to write lyrics for. Yet, the suit claims that the scope of Gioeli’s work expanded over the course of his work on Live and Learn without amendment to the initial agreement, which was only for the lyrics. Allegedly, Gioeli revised the song significantly, communicating changes over the phone to Senoue.
Allegedly, Gioeli was unaware that SEGA had been using “Live and Learn” regularly in a number of other formats over the past 20 years. This in in spite of the fact Gioeli is working closely with the company over several songs throughout this time, all of which had more specific agreements signed regarding who owns what. He apparently only found out about these other uses through a fan telling him, and has since identified up to 25 games it exists in, including Yakuza, Super Smash Bros., Monster Hunter Rise, and others.
Gioeli is seeking a court decision as to the ownership of “Live and Learn”, as well as restitution for any money he is owed and damages for breach of the 2001 Lyric Agreement.