Vampire Weekend being sued $2 million?

Vampire Weekend being sued by 'Contra' cover star for $2 million

Vampire Weekend are being sued for $2 million (£1.3 million) by the cover star of their album 'Contra'.

Released earlier this year, the artwork for the New York group's second LP features a photo of Kirsten Kennis taken in 1983 by photographer Tod Brody.

Also used to spearhead a marketing campaign to promote the album, the photo caused much online speculation as to her identity after the image appeared as an advert on music-based websites, including NME.COM, plus on fly posters around the UK.

Now as TMZ reports, Kennis filed a lawsuit on Wednesday (July 14) with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming that the signature on the release form - which would allow the band to use the image - was forged.

Going on to explain she had no idea the photograph was being used on the album cover, she added that she blamed the band for not verifying the legitimacy of her signature on the release.

The band or photographer have yet to comment on the lawsuit.

http://www.nme.com/news/vampire-weekend/52066

However, that's very misleading. From that it sounds like the band is completely to blame. This may certainly not be the case...

You may have heard by now that Vampire Weekend, XL Recordings and a photographer named Tod Brody are being sued for 2 million dollars by Contra cover model Kirsten Kennis. She claims that she never gave permission for them to use a picture that was taken of her in 1983 (back when she was actually a model), and that the photographer basically tricked the band and label into thinking they were buying it legally. She says the band and label are also at fault for not doing due diligence when they paid $5000 for the picture from Tod. She thinks she deserves 2 million because her picture was obviously the reason the band's album was so successful... That's basically the info that most sites are posting, but I obtained a copy of the court documents and there's more...

First of all, her full name is Ann Kirsten Kennis, though when she was a model she just went by "Kirsten". She was a "high-fashion model under contract with prestigious agencies in New York City" in the 80's and early 90's. Her picture has appeared in clothing, jewelry, cosmetics and automobile ads, and for that she was "highly compensated" and "enjoyed numerous assignments".

She lives in Fairfield, CT, and most interestingly, she claims Tod didn't even take the picture. Her real last name doesn't even appear in the contract Vampire Weekend signed when they bought it. The allegedly forged/fake contract is with "Kirsten Johnsen" and signed by "Kirsten Johnson" (yes, the document has the last name spelled two different ways).

If Tod didn't take the picture, I'm not sure how he thought he would get away with it since she would obviously eventually see it. Whether he took it or not, it's still displayed in his portfolio (with "kirsten" in the file name), though his page that displayed the Vampire Weekend album cover is now gone.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/07/who_is_ann_kirs.html

Sounds to me that actually the photographer is to blame?

Yeah, the photographer is to blame, but that's how it works, she sues the band, if the band looses, they'll sue the photographer.

Yeah, the photographer is to blame, but that's how it works, she sues the band, if the band looses, they'll sue the photographer.

Never thought about it like that for some reason. You're right I think. It will be interesting to see what happens anyway.

Never thought about it like that for some reason. You're right I think. It will be interesting to see what happens anyway.

They're the employer who like employed him to do his job, they carry responsibility for the end product, but he carries the responsibilty for the job he did towards his employer.

This reminds me of something I read a few days ago, which, while being in a completely different context, still funnily is the same situation. A swedish company that produces yoghurt, had been using this picture for the past 9 years for their turkish yoghurt:


So turns out the man in the picture never knew about it, and he never gave permission for anything, but he somehow found out about it after 9 years. The guy was a greek, not a turk.(big rivalry there)  In the end he settled with the swedish company for 200k euros. However, they bought the image from an imagebank, so they're going to try to get that money back from them.

Good, I F***ing hate them!

Good, I f**king hate them!

Haha. I was going to ask if the band was any good. Never listened to them.

Haha. I was going to ask if the band was any good. Never listened to them.

I'd say that they are an 'acquired taste'. Much like transvestites.

Good, I f**king hate them!

With you there. I see the appeal, but not for me. Postmodernist sh*t imo.

Haha. I was going to ask if the band was any good. Never listened to them.

I think you might like them.

I'd say that they are an 'acquired taste'. Much like transvestites.

Typical F***ing 'Big Mac, USA! USA!' attitude, ohhhh my an opportunity to sue someone so i can get a large cash settlement. She was a F***ing model, back in 1983, and someone has liked a photo of her so much they want to stick it on an album cover so naturally my first reaction would be to sue them as a punishment.

P.S.

I'm on the phone now to Claims4u to sue anyone who has ever made eye contact with me. Why? Because its the land of the free!!

Yeah, I was kinda hoping people wouldn't give their opinion on the band. I was hoping for a bit of insight into the legal situation and the possible outcomes from it.

Typical F***ing 'Big Mac, USA! USA!' attitude, ohhhh my an opportunity to sue someone so i can get a large cash settlement. She was a F***ing model, back in 1983, and someone has liked a photo of her so much they want to stick it on an album cover so naturally my first reaction would be to sue them as a punishment.

P.S.

I'm on the phone now to Claims4u to sue anyone who has ever made eye contact with me. Why? Because its the land of the free!!

My dad pretty much said exactly the same thing to me mate. You'd think it would be an honour. I mean, there's better ways of going about it. What if she asked for say 15p every time the album sold.

I was thinking of suing the whores myself for making me dry wretch every time i hear their pansy-arsed sound and for making 'music' for people who don't like music.

Sigh.

I really like this band, and I don't see why people are making these sort of comments.

Unnecessary - this thread isn't about whether you like them or not.

Sigh.

Class  


.....I hear your frustration Ross; we can be a right shower of testosterone filled, piss-takers on here.

Suggestion: if you were hoping for sympathy for the wussy, rich-kids then maybe you should have posted on the forums of www.fluffykittensarecute.com or www.pishypansypop.co.uk or even www.friendsofdorothy.org.  

Who gives a sh*t?

I did request Cape Cod Kwassa JD Kwassa last night.

One of my favorite bands

One of my favorite bands

Same here. I'm still wondering whether to make the slightly awkward trip to Wolverhampton to see them or not.

I hope they stop making music as a result.

What's with all the negative comments, seriously?

If you don't like them, then there's no need to say anything. So many cu*ts in the music industry yet here we have four decent guys in a bad situation. Wish it happened to someone like Pete Doherty.

To be fair, you're right, Ross. A lot worse is out there and it's a shame the situation they've found themselves in. What label are they on (in the US?)

To be fair, you're right, Ross. A lot worse is out there and it's a shame the situation they've found themselves in. What label are they on (in the US?)

I think they're on XL Recordings mate.

Quite a few big names on their roster:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XL_Recordings

Arrgh. I'm on my sh*t phone so I can't check the link. Who else is there?

Adele
Badly Drawn Boy
Basement Jaxx
be your own PET
Beck
Blue Roses
Cajun Dance Party
The Cool Kids
Damon Albarn
Devendra Banhart
Dizzee Rascal
Discovery
Elvis Perkins
Friendly Fires
Jack Peñate
Giggs
Gil Scott-Heron
Golden Silvers
Gotan Project
Holly Miranda
The Horrors
Kicks Like a Mule
Kid Harpoon
Lemon Jelly
M.I.A.
Magistrates
Peaches
The Prodigy
Radiohead
The Raconteurs
Ratatat
RJD2
Sigur Rós
SL2
Tapes 'n Tapes
Thom Yorke
Titus Andronicus
To My Boy
Vampire Weekend
Various
The White Stripes

Thanks. That's a nice stable, though I have a hard time believing that all of them can be label members. That is, some will have put out a single on the label or something and therefore appeared on a release(s) for XL. Still, that makes it sadder since the label may bare the brunt of the cost and indie labels are falling left & right these days. That is definitely lamlamentable.