Sonic musician’s rights lawsuit against Sega dismissed, song remains in “limbo”

Johnny Gioeli’s lawsuit against Sega over the rights to Sonic Adventure 2’s Live & Learn theme song has been dismissed.

In December 2024, Gioeli, a member of the band Crush 40, which originally performed the song, filed a lawsuit against Sega, claiming that the use of Live & Learn outside of Sonic Adventure 2 was a breach of his contract with Sega.

The lawsuit claimed Gioeli has sole ownership of Live & Learn, alleging that he composed, recorded, and produced the song at his own home without Sega’s involvement, and that he even has the original master recording.

The musician did, however, recognise that the song may be jointly owned by himself and Sega, but argued that Sega’s rights are “expressly limited to the lyrics themselves.”

The suit also accused Sega of “exploiting and licensing” the song for over 25 video games, as well as TV shows, films, and live performances without Gioeli’s knowledge.

Goeli sought financial compensation from Sega and asked for a court to “conclusively establish” who owns the rights to the song.

However, in an X post published on September 22, 2025, Gioeli released a statement confirming the lawsuit had been dismissed.

“Everyone – the news is out that the case against Sega was dismissed,” Gioeli wrote. “I want you to understand that the reason for the dismissal was based on time, not on ownership. The song remains in ‘limbo’.”

“Just [two] weeks ago, I was contacted by Epic Games to potentially use Live & Learn… and the amazing part is Sega had them call me for the rights to use the song,” he continued. “So – there you have it. The most epic song remains in the ‘abyss of ownership’.”

Eurogamer reported last week on leaks suggesting Fortnite will have some sort of Sonic the Hedgehog crossover. However, this has not been confirmed.

“The song is mine,” Gioeli continued. “I wrote it with Jun, I sing it, I created the melody, I recorded my vocals in my studio, and they do not own it.

“Thanks to everyone for your endless support and love. Life isn’t always fair… but we all move forward in love and music.”

GamesIndustry.biz has contacted Sega and Epic Games for comment on this story.