American Idol must have a hefty legal team. There are innumerable legal hoops that Idol has to jump through every episode in order to get proper clearance for every song that is performed. It stands to reason, then, that no matter how careful American Idol is when going through the proper channels to ensure what they are doing is completely legal, there will still be a small oversight here or there. Not being anything close to a law expert, it’s overwhelming to read about the complicated rules involving royalties. A couple of days back, it was reported that American Idol is being sued by the American Federation of Musicians for the supposed illegal recording tactics involved with a 2007 Idol highlight show.
The suit implies that American Idol knowingly and illegally re-recorded songs using different musicians in the production of a 2007 highlight episode. Live music was re-recorded for subsequent re-runs, and the necessary royalties are reportedly yet unpaid. When the music was re-recorded, the union was not notified. There has been no comment from American Idol on the issue just yet.
In other news, David Cook will appear on the Jimmy Kimmel Live pre-game special tonight, prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Typically, a recent American Idol winner would be the featured guest, number one on the totem pole, but not today. In addition to Cook, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will join Jimmy Kimmel via satellite. He might discuss some politics, but mostly he’s going to talk basketball. Obama has always been a big basketball fan, having played for his high school in Hawaii and been a pick up game stalwart throughout his political career. As for Cook, I’m not so sure what his experience with basketball is. His jump shot looked suspect when shooting around before singing the National Anthem.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: NY Times
(Image Courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
