Johnny Cash Estate Sues Coca-Cola Over Soundalike Ad: ‘Stealing the Voice of an Artist is Theft’
The estate of the legendary country musician Johnny Cash has filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola, alleging that the beverage giant unlawfully hired a tribute singer to imitate Cash’s iconic voice for a college football advertisement. This legal action, initiated on November 25 in Nashville, is significant as it marks the first major case to utilize Tennessee’s recently enacted ELVIS Act, which was designed to protect individuals’ voices from nonconsensual exploitation. The act, which took effect last summer, expands the right of publicity in the state, ensuring that artists can safeguard their vocal likenesses against unauthorized use, especially in commercial contexts.
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust, which oversees Cash’s estate, claims that the jingle featured in the Coca-Cola commercial, airing since August, bears a striking resemblance to Cash’s deep, resonant bass-baritone voice. The lawsuit identifies the performer behind the jingle as Shawn Barker, a professional Johnny Cash tribute artist. Tim Warnock, a lawyer representing the Cash estate, emphasized the seriousness of the infringement, stating, “Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity.” The estate contends that Coca-Cola did not seek permission or licensing, which is standard practice for using an artist’s intellectual property, especially given Cash’s history of licensing his music for major events like the Super Bowl.
The Cash estate is seeking an injunction to halt the advertisement and demands financial damages for the alleged violations of Cash’s rights under the ELVIS Act, as well as other consumer protection laws. While Coca-Cola has yet to respond to the lawsuit, Barker’s team expressed excitement about being chosen for the commercial, emphasizing the tribute artist’s long-standing dedication to honoring Johnny Cash’s legacy. This case not only highlights the ongoing battle over artists’ rights in the age of commercialization but also sets a precedent for future lawsuits involving sound-alike performances, especially as the entertainment landscape increasingly grapples with the implications of voice imitation and artificial intelligence. With the ELVIS Act in place, the Cash estate’s lawsuit may pave the way for more artists to protect their vocal identities in an industry that often seeks to capitalize on their likenesses without consent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np9FP6_6XQ0
The estate of
Johnny Cash
has brought a lawsuit accusing Coca-Cola of illegally hiring a tribute singer to mimic the country legend’s voice in a college football advertisement.
The federal court complaint, filed on Tuesday (Nov. 25) in Nashville, is the first high-profile case to be brought under Tennessee’s
recently enacted ELVIS Act
. Effective last summer, the novel statute expanded the state’s right of publicity to explicitly protect a person’s voice from nonconsensual exploitation.
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The John R. Cash Revocable Trust, which manages the estate of the singer who died in 2003, takes issue with a new song in a Coca-Cola commercial that’s been airing during college football games since August. The lawsuit claims the voice behind the jingle sounds “remarkably” similar to Cash’s signature bass-baritone — and that, in fact, it’s the voice of a professional Cash tribute performer named Shawn Barker.
“Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity,” wrote a lawyer for the Cash estate,
Tim Warnock
of Loeb & Loeb. “The trust brings this lawsuit to protect the voice of Johnny Cash — and to send a message that protects the voice of all of the artists whose music enriches our lives.”
According to the lawsuit, the Cash estate regularly licenses out the legendary performer’s intellectual property. For example, his songs “Ragged Old Flag” and “Personal Jesus” have both been featured in Super Bowl telecasts. But the estate says Coca-Cola “never even bothered to ask the trust for a license” before using a voice soundalike in its commercial.
“This case arises from Coca-Cola’s pirating Johnny Cash’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself — without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits,” reads the complaint.
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The estate is asking for a court injunction that would take the ad off screens, plus financial damages for Coca-Cola’s alleged violation of Cash’s rights of publicity under the ELVIS Act. Damages are also sought for supposed violations of a Tennessee consumer protection statute and a federal law against false endorsements.
Coca-Cola did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday (Nov. 26). A rep for Barker, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit, told
Billboard
the tribute singer’s team was “thrilled when we were approached to have Shawn sing vocals for this commercial.”
“Shawn Barker has been performing with his Cash tribute ‘The Man in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash’ for over two decades, touring the world sharing his love of Johnny Cash’s music and stories with fans both old and new,” added Barker’s manager,
Joey Waterman
.
This is the first major lawsuit to take advantage of Tennessee’s new voice protections under the ELVIS Act, short for the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act of 2024. It’s worth noting, though, that there is no allegation of artificial intelligence-powered voice mimicking in the Coca-Cola commercial, which Tennessee lawmakers were
vocal about curbing
when they expanded the state’s right of publicity law last year.
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Rather, the Cash estate’s lawsuit follows in the footsteps of historic litigation brought by artists over sound-alike singers mimicking their voices.
Bette Midler
famously sued Ford over a series of commercials featuring impersonator vocals in the 1980s, winning a precedent-setting victory that established voices as protectable rights of publicity in California.
Midler’s case limited these enforcement rights to the commercial advertising context — that is, advertisements that use a celebrity’s likeness to make it appear they’re endorsing a product. This same limitation applies to most laws in the patchwork of state-level publicity rights throughout the United States. However, the newly minted ELVIS Act is different: It expands liability so that one can sue any individual for trampling their publicity rights in Tennessee.
The Cash estate’s Coca-Cola lawsuit stays in the traditional commercial lane. But now that the ELVIS Act is in effect, it’s possible we’ll see more novel right of publicity lawsuits brought over soundalikes in recorded songs.
Rick Astley
waded into this area in 2023, before the ELVIS Act was passed, by suing
Yung Gravy
for mimicking his voice in the rapper’s breakout hit “Betty (Get Money).” That case, which sparked debate about the commercial limits of publicity rights,
settled
before a judge could rule on its merits.
