Future ‘American Idol’ judge accused of using 1,000 songs without permission
Ellen DeGeneres may be the new judge on American Idol, but that doesn’t mean music companies are fond of her. Major record labels, including Sony and Universal, have just launched a lawsuit against her self-titled daytime talk show, claiming that the show has used over 1,000 songs without paying for them, including huge hits like Michael Jackson’s Thriller. In the plaintiffs’ claim, they say that when asked why the show had used all these songs without bothering to license them for broadcast use, the producers replied that they simply “did not roll that way.” A spokesman for Ellen’s production company says that this issue doesn’t really involve DeGeneres and that she is “a tremendous music enthusiast.” But if she’s used all these songs on her show without compensating the copyright owners, the producers of American Idol might find themselves getting nostalgic for Paula, who was so non-controversial.