Pepsi must pay for Flamingos song
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A judge has ordered PepsiCo Inc. and its advertising company to pay $250,000 to the 1950s doo-wop band the Flamingos for using their recording “I Only Have Eyes for You” in a 1997 TV commercial without permission.
A federal judge in Chicago upheld an arbitrator’s decision in favor of the two surviving members of the Flamingos, Terry Johnson and Tommy Hunt, and the estates of the deceased members.
A collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists requires an advertiser to get permission and pay fees to the music publishers, the record labels and the artists themselves.
A spokesman for Pepsi said the company didn’t realize the song was subject to the collective bargaining agreement.
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