Dawson’s Creek is finally returning to its roots. Dawson’s Creek, which premiered in 1998 and ran for six seasons on the WB, followed a group of teenagers (Dawson, Pacey, Joey, Jen, and Jack) as they experienced the trials and tribulations of young adulthood at Capeside High and, later on, college. The hit teen soap was created by Kevin Williamson, of Scream fame, and starred now household names including James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams.
Fans of Dawson’s Creek were ecstatic when the teen drama was finally made available on streaming platforms. However, there was a hitch—the theme song had been changed. The iconic Paula Cole hit “I Don’t Want to Wait” served as the show’s theme for the entirety of its original run, but was changed to Jann Arden’s “Run Like Mad” when the drama showed up on streaming platforms. The reason for this change rested on a temporary licensing deal with Sony which only allowed the show to use Cole’s song for five years. Since the show’s digital emergence, fans have used social media to campaign for the reinstatement of the original theme.
Luckily, this is no longer the case—as reported by The New York Times, Sony has made a deal with Paula Cole to revive the original Dawson’s Creek theme song on all streaming platforms. To make this happen, Cole re-recorded a new master for “I Don’t Want to Wait” and then negotiated a contract for streaming usage of the new recording. This change occurred, in part, because of the fan’s voracious fight to bring the original theme back. Cole stated, "People really care and are really upset about it. They tag me in every post—so much tagging on the socials, fans tagging Netflix and Sony. It's prolific."
Cole is relieved herself, explaining that she feels that this is a sign of vindication for not just her and the fans, but all artists who have fallen prey to similar licensing agreements that don’t adapt to our constantly evolving digital age. Sony has not yet confirmed or denied this new deal.
Before our current era of streaming supremacy, it was uncommon for a recording company to issue—or a television series to acquire—perpetual licenses for music. At the time, even before DVD box sets were popular, these perpetual licenses were much more expensive than short-term ones. This has led to many other shows having to change their songs as the television properties have entered our age of digital viewing. Cole’s deal with Sony can be a positive precedent for artists trying to navigate the loopholes of these licensing agreements to keep their art synonymous with the hit television series’ they were partnered with. Whether this helps more artists will be an interesting fallout in the future. For now, Dawson’s Creek fans can rejoice that their beloved show is returning to the way it was, the way it should be.
Source: The New York Times