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CBS Pays for Stephen Colbert’s Use of ‘Linus and Lucy’

Maanvi Singh, The Guardian:

On his last day hosting CBS’s The Late Show, Stephen Colbert played one of the most iconic songs from the Peanuts soundtrack.

“Oh no! I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!” he joked, as Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine performed the song, titled Linus and Lucy, on air. It was a final dig at the network, which many fans believe cancelled the show due to Colbert’s criticisms of the Trump administration.

It did, indeed, cost CBS. Lee Mendelson Film Productions, the California company that controls jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi’s famed Peanuts catalog and had become increasingly litigious over unauthorized uses of the music, announced it had reached a licensing agreement with CBS for an undisclosed amount. The production company said it would donate all proceeds to World Central Kitchen, the disaster-relief food non-profit founded by chef José Andrés.

One of my favorite moments during a show filled with great moments. And great outcome, too: everybody wins: Colbert, Mendelson Film, World Central Kitchen. Well, not CBS. CBS didn’t win, but it seems they got off lightly. You could say that they settled for Peanuts.

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