CBS reaches agreement over Stephen Colbert’s use of Peanuts music on The Late Show

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 nonprofit founded by chef José Andrés.

Colbert also donated $2.5m to World Central Kitchen during the penultimate episode of the Late Show.

“LMFP found the music’s use on The Late Show funny and entertaining, and is proud to support World Central Kitchen’s mission,” said Jason Mendelson, chairman of the company. “A principal goal of our enforcement actions is to educate individuals, businesses, and government entities about the need to obtain written license agreements to use music in a commercial setting.”

The company had recently taken legal actions over the unlicensed use of Guaraldi’s Peanuts music by an apparel accessories manufacturer, a video game producer, a collectibles auction house and the US Department of the Interior, according to the company.

The Bay Area-based company was founded by producer Lee Mendelson, who worked with Peanuts creator Charles M Schulz, animator Bill Melendez and Guaraldi on the animated Peanuts specials. Schulz himself was born in Minnesota, but had moved to Santa Rosa, California, in 1969 and lived there until his death in 2000.