Eminem and Apple don't mix according to the building history of legal run-in's Apple Computers has had in relation to the Oscar winning rapper. In 2003, Apple was hit with a lawsuit from the rapper's company, Eight Mile Style, for using the hit song "Lose Yourself" (iTunes) without permission in an ad for iTunes. Now the rapper is appearing in current ads for Apple iTunes and iPod, singing the same song that caused the original suit. And, ironically because of that ad, now Apple is caught in the middle of an advertising debate: this time involving Lugz footwear, because of an uncanny resemblance to previous ads for the shoe company. Did Apple steal the concept, or is it pure coincidence? Either way, maybe it's a sign to lose Eminem.

8 Mile Interscope Records Eminem, Various Artists Amazon Music Price:

There's a reason you never hear music by the group The Doors used in TV ads. Much to the dismay of his former band mates, Doors drummer John Densmore hasn't allowed any of the band's music to be used in television commercials. Whether it's $15 million offered by Cadillac to use the song "Break On Through (to the Other Side)" in an SUV ad or the $4 million offer from Apple Computer, Densmore hasn't given in. The reason, in his own words:

"People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music," Densmore said. "I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music…. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent."

Densmore did relent (just once) to the lure of TV ad dollars. Back in the 1970s, he agreed to let the song "Riders on the Storm" be used to sell Pirelli Tires in a TV spot in the UK. "I gave every cent to charity. Jim's ghost was in my ear, and I felt terrible. If I needed proof that it was the wrong thing to do, I got it." (via Boing Boing.)