American Songwriter
3 Times That Big Brands Used Songs Illegally and Got Sued for It
By EM CASALENA
July 12, 2024
Musicians have been battling brands for years over stolen music, artwork, concepts, and more that brands have used for their marketing campaigns. Nowadays, it seems like big businesses can get away with just about anything. That’s what these three major brands thought when they illegally used a musician’s music (or, rather, “sound-alikes”) for promotional purposes. Luckily, those musicians in question didn’t back down when it came to getting their due diligence. Let’s look at three times big brands used songs in their ads illegally and got sued for it.
VIDEOS BY AMERICAN SONGWRITER
- Chili’s vs. Beastie Boys
This more recent example of brands that used songs illegally and were sued involves restaurant chain Chili’s and famed hip-hop outfit Beastie Boys.
Beastie Boys sued Briker International over the use of their 1994 smash hit song “Sabotage”, as well as the band’s likeness, for a commercial. The ad in question was a parody of the original song’s music video. The rap group accused the brand of implying (quite falsely) that Beastie Boys were endorsing Chili’s. The suit is still ongoing, but it’s quite likely that the Boys will get a paycheck over it.
- Ford Motors vs. Bette Midler
Decades ago, Ford Motor Co. hired a former backup singer of Bette Midler’s to record a song for a car commercial. However, they only did so after Midler shot down an offer to do the commercial. They went out of their way to ask the singer to “mimic” Midler as much as possible, so listeners would think it was the infamous Bette Midler singing. Naturally, the OG Midler sued and won $400,000.
- Frito-Lay vs. Tom Waits
Gravelly-voiced jazz-folk legend Tom Waits once sued Frito-Lay in the 1980s over a Doritos commercial. The brand used a parody song that was clearly inspired by Waits’ “Step Right Up”, and even featured a singer who sounded extremely similar to him. The ad was everywhere, and eventually, Waits heard it himself. The sound-alike was so similar to him that he thought he might have recorded the ad while he was drunk and simply forgot. He sued the company and was awarded almost $3 million in damages.
I hadn’t seen that commercial since it first aired. I remember when I first saw it on TV my mom said “Is that Bette Midler?” I was not sure either. So it obviously sounded like it was her…but there was a subtle difference. Then the details of the lawsuit came out which explained it all.