• by Masha Geller , April 19, 2002

You know it’s a slow day in the online ad business when every publication is giving prime placement to a story about the yodeler who’s suing Yahoo for $5 million.

Seeing how it’s Friday afternoon and the alternative topic is AOL’s upcoming earning release, in which the company is expected to report the largest quarterly net loss ever, I, too, would rather talk about the yodeler.

Rounder Records recording artist Wylie Gustafson, founder of the Wylie & the Wild West country band, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the mega-portal, claiming he has not been paid for the continued use of his voice at the end of every TV and radio commercial the company has aired since 1996, as well as online -- as part of Yahoo! Instant Messenger.

Gustafson said in a statement yesterday that he was hired by Yahoo! in 1996 to create and record the signature yodel for the company’s first television commercial. At the time, he was paid $590 for his performance with the understanding his yodel would only be used for that specific commercial, he said. According to his complaint, the company never told him his Yahoo yodel would be used in thousands of subsequent commercials.

"I tried to resolve the matter with Yahoo! informally for over three years without success," Gustafson told Reuters. "I even sent a copy of my lawsuit to Yahoo! before filing it, but Yahoo! never responded to either me or my attorney."

Naturally, Yahoo! spokespeople were not available for comment.