Johnny Cash's Estate Slams Coca-Cola Over Tribute Act Advert
The estate of music legend Johnny Cash has taken the iconic soft drink brand to court, accusing Coca-Cola of stealing its star's voice and identity through a nationwide advert featuring a tribute act. The case centers around the use of Shawn Barker, a professional impersonator who performs as "The Man in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash", without permission from Cash's estate.
According to the complaint filed by the Cash estate, Coca-Cola failed to seek their consent before using Barker's vocals in the advert, which played during college football games. The lawsuit is being pursued under Tennessee's Elvis Act, a law that protects artists' voices from exploitation without consent.
"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," the complaint states. The estate is seeking an injunction to remove the advert from the air, damages under the Elvis Act, as well as damages for alleged violations of consumer protections in Tennessee.
Barker's manager, Joey Waterman, defended his client, saying that Shawn had been performing Cash tribute acts for over two decades and was thrilled when approached by Coca-Cola. However, the cash-strapped estate is keen to make its point about the use of tribute acts as a means of exploiting artists' likenesses and voices.
"It's stealing the voice of an artist," warned Tim Warnock, the lawyer representing the Cash estate. "It's theft of his integrity, identity and humanity."
The estate of music legend Johnny Cash has taken the iconic soft drink brand to court, accusing Coca-Cola of stealing its star's voice and identity through a nationwide advert featuring a tribute act. The case centers around the use of Shawn Barker, a professional impersonator who performs as "The Man in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash", without permission from Cash's estate.
According to the complaint filed by the Cash estate, Coca-Cola failed to seek their consent before using Barker's vocals in the advert, which played during college football games. The lawsuit is being pursued under Tennessee's Elvis Act, a law that protects artists' voices from exploitation without consent.
"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," the complaint states. The estate is seeking an injunction to remove the advert from the air, damages under the Elvis Act, as well as damages for alleged violations of consumer protections in Tennessee.
Barker's manager, Joey Waterman, defended his client, saying that Shawn had been performing Cash tribute acts for over two decades and was thrilled when approached by Coca-Cola. However, the cash-strapped estate is keen to make its point about the use of tribute acts as a means of exploiting artists' likenesses and voices.
"It's stealing the voice of an artist," warned Tim Warnock, the lawyer representing the Cash estate. "It's theft of his integrity, identity and humanity."
, so some dude named Shawn Barker is literally making a living by singing like Johnny Cash for like 20 yrs now & coke just comes outta nowhere & steals his vocals & uses them in an advert 
and then the cash estate goes all out & sues them 
because apparently it's not cool to profit off someone else's voice without asking, i mean, who knew? 
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That's a whole lotta dedication from Shawn Barker! But seriously, I feel for the estate, they're trying to keep the spirit of Johnny Cash alive. Coca-Cola should've at least asked permission or given some credit 
. This case is definitely going to be interesting to watch 
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they're basically profiting off someone elses work and legacy without even asking permission I mean i get it tribute acts can be cool but this is just greedy, in a bad way 
the artist deserves their due respect and compensation. i hope they win that lawsuit 
they're literally stealin his voice 2 make a buck n dont even givin them permission 
its not right 2 use sum1 elses sound 4 ur ad campaign witout askin! 
i mean, i love johnny cash 2 but this is just low 
the cash estate shud win dis lawsuit fer sho 
It's not that hard, right?
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. And let's be real, Coke isn't gonna stop using his vocals overnight 
. I can see why they'd want to protect artists' voices and integrity... it's not cool when people try to cash in on someone else's likeness without permission 
. But still, it feels like they're taking this one way too far 
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i mean come on @CocaCola how could u? 
theyre just tryna profite off johnny cashs legacy & voice without even askin for permisson? 
. i feel 4 the cash estate, tim warnock is right on point 
about how tribute acts r used as a means of exploitin artists. #JusticeForJohnnyCash #RespectTheLegend #TributeActsHaveConsequences
. Using Shawn Barker without consent is shady, no matter how long he's been doing his thing 
The thing is, I think Coke was probably gonna use some deep-fake tech to make Shawn Barker's vocals sound like Cash in the first place... that way they wouldn't have to pay anyone 
. But seriously, it's a slippery slope – next thing you know, they'll be using AI-generated voices for everything! 
I'm not sure what's the right answer here, but I think there needs to be some middle ground 
. Maybe Coca-Cola could've reached out to the Cash estate and said "hey, can we use Shawn for this advert?" instead of just going ahead with it. It's a shame that it had to go to court 
.