It's been a while now since I've updated this thing, so I guess it's about time I do something about just that. After I started working for the local newspaper last august I haven't really been inspired to do any new horror projects and personal stuff lately. And now with all the damn snow, it's pretty much impossible anyway.
Just before Christmas I worked part-time in a cd shop, and one day I suddenly noticed that a well-known band have used two of my older concert photos inside the booklet for one of their albums. My name was there, but they never asked me for my permission to use the shots, and I didn't get paid either. After looking through the booklet in a different album (by the same band) I found ANOTHER one of my concert pictures, also used without permission.
We (Demoneye Photography that I do freelance work for) contacted the record label in Italy, and they responded that they had nothing to do with it whatsoever, and told us to contact the artist himself. I contacted the actual designer of the cd covers, to try and find out how he got the pictures in the first place. But he didn't remember anything about it, and told me to contact the record label. Yay! Then I tried contacting the band, explaining my problem and asking if they could tell me how this had happened. Their response was not exactly what I expected.
They said that they had no idea whatsoever how my pictures ended up in their cd covers, and that it was most likely my own fault that my images were floating around the internet without any copy protection or signatures. Funny how they managed to get my name in the credits section in both of the cd albums then, if my photos were without signature...huh?
As a compensation they offered me 1000NOK (around £100) for the photos used, and said that if I withdraw my demands they would still let me get photo passes for their concerts and treat me like "one of the guys". Apparently they're gonna treat me like scum if I try to get paid!? They also said that I had sold pictures of them without their permission and made money from it. (I had a gallery exhibit in a local café in 2006 and some of the pictures I had there was from one of their concerts) The wife of one of the band members wanted to buy a couple of the framed photos, and so I sold them to her. I can't see how this is illegal in any way though, as it was from a public performance and not a personal portrait at all.
Then I contacted the Norwegian distributor of the cd's and tried to get a little help from them, with no luck of course. They had nothing to do with anything, and told me to contact a Swedish guy, responsible for distributing the albums through Scandinavia. He couldn't help me either. Or wouldn't. I'm guessing the latter.
So apparently nobody wants to be responsible for stealing my pictures, but they all think it's perfectly OK to sell the albums with my photos inside and make money from it.
What the hell can I do about it? Today I was in a meeting with a lawyer, and I'll get more info about how to proceed with it in a couple of days. If anyone out there has any tips or advice...feel free to drop me a line.
(And remember kids...never work for Festivalphoto! Don't give away your photos for free! Use written contracts, and get paid for your hard work. More info about crappy deals, read more about Festivalphoto here:
taragon.deviantart.com/journal…)
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