David Byrne Wins US Governor Lawsuit

Former Florida governor Charlie Crist apologized to singer David Byrne for using a Talking Heads song during his unsuccessful 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate.

USA Today reports that Byrne sued the Republican-turned-independent Crist for $1 million for using a snippet of the band's Road to Nowhere hit in a campaign ad. Crist lost the Senate race to conservative Republican Marco Rubio.

The lawsuit has been settled and terms were not disclosed, according to the Associated Press. In a twist, Crist issued his apology via video posted on YouTube.

"The use of David Byrne's song and his voice in my campaign advertisement without his permission was wrong and should not have occurred," Crist says in the video (which you can watch below).

Byrne said in a statement "It turns out I am one of the few artists who has the bucks and guts to challenge such usage. I'm feeling very manly after my trip to Tampa. Other artists may actually have the anger but not want to take the time and risk the legal bills. I am lucky that I can do that. Anyway, my hope is that by standing up to this practice maybe it can be made to be a less common option, or better yet an option that is never taken in the future."

Here's the apology: