Singer Tom Wait Sues GM

[Guest Josh]

FRANKFURT, Germany — Singer-songwriter Tom Waits said Thursday he has filed a lawsuit against a unit of automaker General Motors Corp. and a German advertising agency for allegedly using a soundalike in a series of European ads.

The 55-year-old singer, whose distinct, gravelly voice has won him two Grammy Awards, filed the civil lawsuit this week with a state court in Frankfurt, listing Adam Opel AG and the advertising firm McCann Erickson as the defendants.

Andreas Schumacher, Waits' German lawyer, said the singer was approached numerous times about doing the ads last year, but declined, citing a policy of not doing commercials. He said the firm then hired a soundalike and the ads aired earlier this year in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway.

"We have sent copies of the lawsuit to McCann Erickson and Opel," Schumacher said.

Waits is seeking damages and any profits derived from the ads for violating his personality rights, Schumacher said.

"Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad — ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor," Waits said in a statement. "While the court can't make me active in radio, I am asking it to make me radioactive to advertisers."

Entire Article: http://ap.lubbockonline.com/pstories/enter...5/3291835.shtml

[axoid]

I don't know German law, but in the US he wouldn't stand a change. In the 90's a Blues artist tried to sue ZZ-Top for the song "La Grange" because it 'sounded like' the songs that he wrote. He lost.

[sciguy_0504]

Who's Tom Wait?

[Sixty8panther]

I don't know either Sciguy.

[99camaroSS]

who the hell is this loser? sounds like some washed out one hit wonder who has been looking to get one more shot at the spotlight to me

[johnnyb]

If GM really did rip someone off, then they should be paid. No controversy there.

[Sixty8panther]

if

[sciguy_0504]

In this case, a big if.

[Flybrian]

Who's Tom Wait?

[post="15244"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

+1

[Cory Wolfe]

Yeah... Who the hell is that? :blink:

[Newbiewar]

you wanna talk about loser law suits, I found a Skrew (a wood skrew) in my El Pollo Loco Burrido... I didnt wanna be the next front cover guy who found a finger in his chili... but who the heck is this guy anyway?

[honest trev]

Who's Tom Wait?

[post="15244"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

i cant believe you guys dont know tom wait!
after all he did have one song back in the 80's :lol:
the song was called "i aint missing you"
i think.
i'm assuming this is that guy.

[sciguy_0504]

I think you're right, honest.

[Flybrian]

No, I ain't missing you is by John Waite.

I've never heard of this guy either, but apparently he likes to sue:

Waits has steadfastly refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials and has outwardly spoken ill of other artists who do. ("If Michael Jackson wants to work for Pepsi, why doesn't he just get himself a suit and an office in their headquarters and be done with it.") He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers who used his material without permission.

The first lawsuit was filed in 1988 against Frito Lay, and resulted in a US$2.6 million judgement in Waits' favor. Frito Lay had approached Waits to use one of his songs in an advertisement. Waits declined the offer, and Frito Lay hired a Waits soundalike to sing a jingle similar to Small Change's "Step Right Up," which is, ironically, a song Waits has called "an indictment of advertising." [4] ("Step Right Up" concludes with the lyric "The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away").

In 1993, Levi's used Screamin' Jay Hawkins's version of Waits's "Heartattack and Vine" in a commercial. Waits sued, and Levi's agreed to cease all use of the song, and offered a full page apology in Billboard Magazine. [5]

In 2000, Waits found himself in a situation similar to his earlier one with Frito-Lay: Audi approached him, asking to use "Innocent When You Dream" (from Frank's Wild Years) for a commercial broadcast in Spain. Waits declined, but the commercial ultimately featured music very similar to Waits' song. Waits undertook legal action, and a Spanish court recognized there had been a violation of Waits' moral rights, in addition to the infringement of copyright [6]. The production company, Tandem Campany Guasch, was ordered to pay compensation to Waits through his Spanish publisher.

In 2005, Waits sued Adam Opel AG, claiming that, after having failed to sign him to sing in their Scandinavian commercials, they had hired a sound-alike singer.

[sciguy_0504]

So instead of making money through album sales or concerts he sues companies who "use his songs." Hopefully the lawsuit against GM is the first one he'll lose.

[Flybrian]

So instead of making money through album sales or concerts he sues companies who "use his songs."  Hopefully the lawsuit against GM is the first one he'll lose.

[post="15787"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Its easier than self-promotion, isn't it?

If he really cared about not selling out, he'd sue to stop the use of the song and not for financial recovery.

[hc_earwicker]

No, I ain't missing you is by John Waite.

I've never heard of this guy either, but apparently he likes to sue:

[post="15786"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Amazing that nobody has heard of Tom Waits on this forum and it takes an immigrant like me to tell you about one of America's most unique artists. Nobody else sounds quite like him and his voice is definitely an acquired taste - however, he has a very devoted fan base. If you are interested in finding out more, look at this fan website.

While few people seem to have heard any of his albums, chances are that most serious music fans would have heard some songs of his covered by other artists - including The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Norah Jones, The Ramones, Johnny Cash, Bob Seger and quite a few others (for a more complete list of covers look here). He isn't a perennial chart topper but he has been quite successful for the past 30+ years - so he isn't exactly some penniless nobody.

He does have an extreme distaste for his songs being used in any form of advertising and has consistently refused to allow his songs to be used in any kind of advertising campaign and has sued when people have tried to go around his back to and use impersonators. BTW - it is quite easy to spot a Waits impersonation. I don't think there are ANY other artists who sound like Louis Armstrong with a sore throat singing this weird fusion of rock, jazz and '30s German Musical Theater.

- HCE Edited September 19, 2005 by hc_earwicker

[network engineer]

So if I am an artist and painted a painting that GM wanted to use in a print ad and I said now, then GM hired some other artist to make a half assed copy and used it in the print ad, I wouldn't have a write to expect GM to knock it off. And to punish them by suing them? He's not in it for the money he's in it for GM trying to make money off of counterfeiting his music. I hope he wins.

[Daryl Z71]

who the hell is this loser? sounds like some washed out one hit wonder who has been looking to get one more shot at the spotlight to me

[post="15277"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Yea that sounds about right. :CG_all: