Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
British alternative metal band Sleep Token has faced criticism for allegedly utilizing an unlicensed live photograph on their official merchandise without obtaining the original photographer’s permission, as per theprp. Laura Ioana V publicly accused the band on Instagram, sharing a post in which she claimed that a photograph she took of the lead singer Vessel during Sleep Token’s performance at the Copenhell festival in Copenhagen on June 15th, 2023, was altered and used on commemorative merchandise sold at their November 10th, 2024 concert in Frankfurt, Germany.
This year I found out the photo I took in 2023 at @copenhell festival (on an editorial assignement for a magazine) was used for merch in 2024, without my permission. I have not signed any contract granting anyone the licensing rights to these photos.
I know a lot of you loved these photos and I am very grateful for the support, but now I need some help sharing this so I can get to management. I have sent emails myself and sent a lot of dms on socials as well but I haven’t been succesful in establishing a communication line with the band directly.
I have only been in contact with one person who was involved with the coin and I have been called agressive for saying the settlement they offered was unfair and that it’s an unacceptable situation, so hoping to get to the band management directly.
As a small creator it is a bit disheartening when you do something with passion and it gets stolen for profit and dismissed like this. Also, on top of that, it seems to not be an isolated case.
Also, considering the amounts of copyright issues this band had with small creators (fanart, tattoo artists etc) it is probably worth creating some awareness on the irony of all of this.
Please share and help out
She later updated her post to indicate that the band’s management, Future History Management, had contacted her regarding the issue.
Management finally got in contact so let’s see what solution they will have to this.
This incident resembles a prior case involving a different photographer, where the dispute originated from the band’s employed production company allegedly failing to exercise proper diligence. Sleep Token has previously attracted online criticism due to alleged overreach by their third-party copyright management firm, Rico Management, which has aggressively pursued copyright claims against various artist-related images and intellectual property. An example includes an incident in October where a tattoo artist’s social media account was deactivated after sharing Sleep Token-inspired artwork. Disputes over the ownership and usage rights of photographs of musical artists for merchandise are complex, as exemplified by a 2023 lawsuit involving Guns N’ Roses and photographer Katarina Benzova.
Sleep Token from England are currently very popular. The band is conquering the music scene and captivating numerous fans with their mysterious aura. Not so much time has passed since the band’s beginnings in 2016. Nevertheless, Sleep Token is now a well-known name for many: the band with the masked members and the secret names.
Token formed in 2016 and since then consists of four members. All of them have adopted a pseudonym for the band. The frontman of the group is Vessel. He is responsible for the memorable vocals and also plays guitar and keyboard. The other band members are given numbers. Behind the drums sits II, III swings the bass and IV can be heard playing the guitar.
