The Ellen DeGeneres Show Doesn't 'Roll That Way'

Reuters reported Warner Music Group Corp, Sony Corp’s Sony Music Entertainment, Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group, and EMI Groups have filed a lawsuit against the producers of the The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The four recording companies claim the show has used songs without permission.

If you’ve never seen the show, DeGeneres uses a popular song to dance to, often with the crowd, during a special segment of each show called the “dance over.” While the new American Idol judge was not personally named, a suit has been filed against her production company, A Very Good Production, for the use of more than 1,000 tunes without permission. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is produced and distributed by Time Warner Inc.

When the defendants were asked why the show simply did not get licenses for the songs used, their reply was they didn’t “roll that way.”

The lawsuit states: “As sophisticated consumers of music, Defendants knew full well that, regardless of the way they rolled, under the Copyright Act, and under state law for the pre-1972 recordings, they needed a license to use the sound recordings lawfully.”

-Ashley Thompson
Currently listening to “Chicken Friend Love” by Mike Sparrow

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