Business News Legal

South Korean music firm accuses The Interview of uncleared sync

By | Published on Monday 29 December 2014

The Interview

As if the Sony Pictures movie ‘The Interview’ hadn’t been the subject of enough controversy already, two South Korean hip hop artists have accused the film’s makers of using one of their tracks without permission.

The Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy vehicle was, of course, temporarily shelved after unknown hackers, seemingly offended by the fictional portrayal of the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the film, hacked Sony Pictures’ servers and leaked a stack of sensitive files and data.

Subsequent threats by the hackers led to many US cinema chains axing plans to screen the picture, though plenty of independent movie theatres offered to show the film instead, enabling a series of screenings on Christmas Day accompanied by a pay-per-view online release, both in America.

Having seen a copy of the film, South Korean firm FeelGhoodMusic, a company founded by hip hop artists Tiger JK and Yoon Mi Rae, issued a statement saying that about fifteen seconds of a duet recorded by the two performers, called ‘Pay Day’, appears in the film without permission. The company added that discussions did take place regarding the sync, but that the two artists did not approve use of the song in the controversial film.

The statement, issued on Boxing Day, explains: “There were initial discussions about including the song in the film score, but negotiations stopped so we were under the impression that it wasn’t happening. It was only after the film was released that we became aware of the song’s unauthorised use. The artists were hesitant about authorising the use of the music as the film is a very sensitive topic in Korea”.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two singers will now likely take legal action against the agency who approached them about the original sync deal proposal, DFSB.



READ MORE ABOUT: | | | |