While it would pale in comparison with the film's possible role in an ongoing conflict with North Korea, Sony's The Interview could face new drama in the form of a copyright lawsuit. According to Torrent Freak, the film may have used a 30-second portion of the song "Pay Day" without reaching a final deal with K-Pop artist Yoon Mi-rae.

Torrent Freak describes Yoon Mi-rae as a "US-born hip hop and R&B singer who currently releases music on the Feel Ghood Music label." In the past, her music has reached the top spot on the Korean Music Charts and Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100. The artist was apparently in negotiations with Sony to have "Payday" appear in The Interview, but no agreement was reached—and her song was used anyway.

“There were initial discussions for using ‘Pay Day‘ in the movie, but at some point, the discussions ceased and we assumed that it would not follow through,” Feel Ghood Music told Torrent Freak. “However, after the movie was released, we learned that the track had been used without permission, legal procedure, or contracts... We will be taking legal action against Sony Pictures as well as DFSB, the agency that had been carrying out the discussion regarding the use of the track.”

Again, this situation is likely at the lower-end of Sony's concerns after experiencing a massive hack and seeing terrorist threats and theater screening cancellations in response to The Interview. And Torrent Freak believes it's "unlikely that this lawsuit will result in a messy legal battle" after talking to Feel Ghood Music and analyzing the situation, and the site predicts a possible retroactive deal to be reached. "Yoon Mi-rae should not only be able to secure a piece of that but also raise her profile in a way that would not have been possible had Sony paid her in the first instance," the site writes.

For a movie that may have illegally used music, Torrent Freak reports piracy of the film itself is as large as the early theatrical sales figures. The New York Times reported The Interview grossed over $1 million on its opening day in a little more than 300 theaters nationwide, and Torrent Freak cites figures of more than 1.5 million illegal downloads of the film in its first two days.