Black Keys Sue Pizza Hut, Home Depot Over Song Use

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Black Keys Sue Pizza Hut, Home Depot Over Song Use



http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/black-keys-sue-pizza-hut-home-depot-over-song-use-20120622

By Rolling Stone
June 22, 2012 1:00 PM ET

The Black Keys have filed lawsuits against Home Depot and Yum! Brands Inc., parent company of Pizza Hut, over unauthorized use of their songs in commercials, reports Bloomberg. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, along with producer Danger Mouse, submitted separate filings in Los Angeles on June 21st, alleging Home Depot used "Lonely Boy" and Pizza Hut used "Gold on the Ceiling" without permission. The lawsuits state "Lonely Boy" was used in a power tools bit for Home Depot, while "Gold on the Ceiling" was reportedly featured in a Cheesy Bites pizza ad for Pizza Hut.

Carney recently spoke with Rolling Stone, revealing the band is going back into the studio in July for the follow-up to El Camino. "We don't know when we'll be done but we're starting it in July. We might not finish it until March since we have to tour so much, but we'll see," he said. "We don't know what's going on. After July, we'll be able to know how long it'll take."

[spanone]

1. takes a lot of corporate balls to steal music like this. they know about music licensing.

i can't imagine an ad agency participating in such a thing.

sue their asses off.

[They_Live]

2. I'm sure the RIAA is all over this!

Aren't they?

If not, why not?

[DJ13]

3. Lets see, each commercial was played 100 x on 1,000 stations

So by the RIAA's standards used on everyday people for piracy, those companies each owe about $64,000.000,000,000.32.

That should set an example.

[jp11]

5. Exactly I eagerly await the courts putting these corporations in jail and ordering them to pay

that sum.

I hope the sun won't burn out while I'm waiting.

[TeamPooka]

4. How?

How could this get past clearance?
I'm in TV and this is unthinkable to happen once but twice?
Oh wait corporations are people so they make mistakes too right?

[Tsiyu]

6. Ah...the old "Take all the Freebies we can grab" ethic

If only they thought their employees should get a break now and again...but

Rules are for Little People.

Corporations wear Big People pants.

[CleanLucre]

7. This is big except all their songs start to sound the same

after about 20,000 times. That style will get ripped anyhows.

[rocktivity]

8. The Black Keys aren't exactly on a DIY record label

They're on Nonesuch, which is a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. So they've got the big guns they need for a long, nasty legal battle.


rocktivity

[mmonk]

9. Yep, they will bring guns to this fight.

[JI7]

12. could it depend on the contract ?

if they get more freedom than some others maybe there is a limit to how much they would spend to fight it.

but even if not it seems like a simple case to me.

[AngryOldDem]

10. Good on them.

El Camino, by the way, is one hell of an album. I wonder what made Pizza Hut and Home Depot think they could just reach in and grab a couple of tunes? Were they thinking the band was that obscure that no one would notice???

I hate, hate, hate hearing rock songs -- especially classic rock -- used to pimp shit in commercials.

[JI7]

11. they probably thought the band would be happy to be heard by more people

i do notice they seem to play better music in ads than they do on the radio which mostly plays shit.