SEGA Is About to ‘Live and learn’ After Crush 40 Sues Over Iconic ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Song

If there’s one thing that Sonic the Hedgehog has over its contemporaries, it’s the fact that it always has a killer soundtrack. While most of our memories of Sonic Adventure 2 revolve around the Chao Garden, its smattering of musical selections also made quite an impact. “City Escape” is one of the most iconic tunes of all time. Only being nudged out of the top spot by “Live and Learn.” As SEGA is about to Live and Learn. They should have considered asking Crush 40 before using it in multiple projects without their knowledge.

Crush 40 Was Seemingly Unaware of How Many Times ‘Live and Learn’ Has Been Used outside of ‘sonic’

Originally reported by Polygon, John Goeli is suing SEGA of America over the rights to “Live and Learn.” While SEGA may technically own the lyrics to the song, the widespread use of the track has led Goeli to seek legal action against the company. Many of us have heard this track more times than we could count. But someone like Goeli may not be as aware of its rampant use. I mean, it’s shown up in Yakuza and Monster Hunter. Both are somewhat niche franchises compared to Sonic the Hedgehog. And I say that as a fan of all of the franchises listed.

As shown in the Scribd Document uploaded by Polygon, “Live and Learn” has appeared in over 25 different video games. Likely without Crush 40 and Goeli’s knowledge. The most recent game to feature the track was Sonic x Shadow: Generations. As per the lawsuit:

“Unless the Plaintiff were to actively view/play all of the above titles (many of which are only available on specific consoles and/or in specific regions) he would not be aware of these uses and knowledge of such could not be imputed on him.”

If I had to guess, Goeli was approached properly about “Live and Learn” for the upcoming film. After learning that this track has been used countless times in other media, he’s decided to take action. While this likely means we won’t hear “Live and Learn” for quite some time after it, I hope Crush 40 gets what they deserve from this suit. It’s never fun to learn that your idea has been used without your knowledge.