PEBBLE BEACH, CA – FEBRUARY 08: Actor Bill Murray plays in the 3M Celebrity Challenge during a practice round for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 8, 2017 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images).
What else does 2020 have in store for us? Hard to say. Feels like we’ve seen it all this year, and it’s not even over yet. The year that just won’t stop has now caused a rift between Bill Murray and the Doobie Brothers. But at least this particular piece of the worst year ever is fairly amusing.
The story goes like this: Bill Murray has a golf clothing company called William Murray Golf who used a Doobie Brothers song (“Listen to the Music”) in a commercial without getting permission. The Doobie’s legal team sent Murray’s company a legal warning which can be seen here. The letter basically says to stop using it, as well as “This is the part where I’m supposed to cite the United States Copyright Act, excoriate you for not complying with some subparagraph that I’m too lazy to look up and threaten you with eternal damnation for doing so. But you already earned that with those Garfield movies. And you already know you can’t use music in ads without paying for it.” Murray’s company of course had to respond, and you can read their response below, or read the full story here at vulture.com.
In the immortal words of the @TheDoobieBros—”What the people need is a way to make them smile.”
William Murray Golf’s attorney @AlexYoffe‘s response to Doobie Brothers’ attorney Peter Paterno, re: “Listen To The Music”.#BillMurray #WilliamMurray #DoobieBrothers pic.twitter.com/rIxmM8wzDV
— William Murray Golf (@WMurrayGolf) September 25, 2020