Applebee’s Ran AC/DC Music in Commercials Without License, Says Sony Music Complaint

Applebee’s produced and ran TV commercials containing “substantial portions” of the "iconic" AC/DC recording "Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution" without getting a license or paying $325,000 in agreed-upon copyright fees, Sony Music alleged in a breach of contract and copyright infringement complaint (in Pacer) filed Friday against the restaurant chain. Applebee’s ran the commercials to trumpet the chain’s “transformation” through the addition of new menu items at its 2,000 U.S. restaurants, said the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Despite Applebee’s use of the recordings to its “great profit,” the written licenses provided by Sony Music “have never been signed and returned to Sony Music and neither the agreed payments nor any portion thereof have ever been paid to Sony Music,” said the complaint. Applebee’s claim that the fees were properly paid to a “music clearance” company, Music Dealers, that acted as Sony Music’s agent but since went out of business is “pure fiction,” said the complaint. Applebee’s representatives didn’t comment Monday.