Artist under fire for allegedly selling same artwork to both Dream Theater and Orion

Ben Jones, the creative force behind progressive rock project Orion, has raised concerns about artist Hugh Syme potentially double-selling artwork. According to Jones, art he exclusively licensed from Syme for Orion‘s August 2024 album “The Lightbringers” has unexpectedly appeared in Dream Theater‘s latest release “Parasomnia” deluxe edition booklet.

Jones initially expressed his shock on Facebook on February 7th:

“Is this for real?! A piece of artwork in the new Dream Theater deluxe edition is the EXACT same piece of artwork that was in The Lightbringers booklet for the song The Ghosts Among Us. I’m sure they won’t read this, but any thoughts from Mike Portnoy or John Petrucci? Hugh Syme did the artwork for my album and theirs, so I think I can see where this is going…”

While Syme has remained silent on the matter, Jones provided an update on February 9th, revealing a positive resolution with Dream Theater‘s management. In his detailed response, Jones clarified several points:

“I’ve never suggested plagiarism – in fact, I’ve repeatedly emphasized that Dream Theater are also victims of Hugh’s negligence,” Jones explained. He described the shock of discovering artwork he’d invested thousands in, meant to be exclusive, appearing in another band’s release.

“The situation was gut-wrenching,” Jones continued, explaining that his public posts were partly an attempt to reach Dream Theater, given his limited industry connections. “I didn’t expect this level of attention.”

The situation has reached a positive conclusion, with Dream Theater’s manager Frank reaching out to Jones on Saturday night. “We had a very amicable exchange,” Jones shared. “Despite owing me nothing, Frank made a very kind offer, which I plan to accept. I want to be clear – Dream Theater committed no wrongdoing in this situation.”

Jones concluded: “People will form their own opinions about this, regardless of the facts.”