Photographer writes excellent letter to the band Garbage about unpaid photo use

[Orang Utan]

It's totally justified to publically out people who don't want to pay for services.

 

[Pickman's model]

It's totally justified to publically out people who don't want to pay for services.

the bbc should be perennially in the headlines then as theu want everything done for free and pref yesterday

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It's totally justified to publically out people who don't want to pay for services.

First you try to sort things out in private. He didn't do that.

I'm guessing he regretting posting that the day after. Should have slept on it.

 

[trashpony]

I can't imagine it's the first time he's been asked to contribute his services/his living for free. Maybe it's the fact that Garbage were a fucking huge band who have sold millions of records that tipped him over the edge.

And what would Garbage do if someone wanted to play their music without paying them royalties? I can't imagine they'd turn them down on the grounds that they'd already been paid. I can't imagine they'd keen quiet about it either

 

[Spymaster]

It's totally justified to publically out people who don't want to pay for services.

Cobblers. It's wanker behaviour. At least give them an opportunity to reassess their request.

Dear band,

I would appreciate a fee for the reuse of these photographs. I think £xxx would be fair, given the work done.

Regards
Photographer.

 

[Orang Utan]

They'd already stated that they didn't want to pay him. Fuck em. He has every right to stick it to them.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I can't imagine it's the first time he's been asked to contribute his services/his living for free. Maybe it's the fact that Garbage were a fucking huge band who have sold millions of records that tipped him over the edge.

And what would Garbage do if someone wanted to play their music without paying them royalties? I can't imagine they'd turn them down on the grounds that they'd already been paid. I can't imagine they'd keen quiet about it either

In their reply, they stated that it does happen, and they do keep quiet about it. Perhaps they are lying. But either way, he's responsible for his own behaviour.

 

[Spymaster]

They'd already stated that they didn't want to pay him. Fuck em. He has every right to stick it to them.

Nope. The initial letter said the budget was limited. He extrapolated from that that they'd pay him nothing, so didn't even ask before going nuclear publicly.

He's behaved like a tosser. He looks far worse than they do out of this.

 

[Orang Utan]

Fuck the little man, eh? How dare he complain? And in public! How very dare he!

 

[bi0boy]

It's totally justified to publically out people who don't want to pay for services.

Do you mind if I quote your post without paying you a fee?

 

[Fez909]

Fuck the little man, eh? How dare he complain? And in public! How very dare he!

And don't forget, it's not like this was a one-off incident:

PS: Just so you know, this is actually an improvement on the management of your "Absolute Garbage" album where the record company just used my work without even asking. I only found this out when I went into a shop and bought a copy, which, when you think about it, has a certain irony.

 

[Orang Utan]

Do you mind if I quote your post without paying you a fee?

I've just sent your quote to all major press organisations

 

[bi0boy]

I've just sent your quote to all major press organisations

I only asked nicely, you bastard. You could have asked me for 50p first or something.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Fuck the little man, eh? How dare he complain? And in public! How very dare he!

Hmmm. Little man?

I've just had a brief perusal of his website. He's not so little. I'm guessing neither you nor I could afford to book him.

 

[Mr Moose]

Garbage are doing it for their fans, lol.

I've been mad on many a band and yet I've never yearned that any of them venture into publishing.

 

[Mr Moose]

Hmmm. Little man?

I've just had a brief perusal of his website. He's not so little. I'm guessing neither you nor I could afford to book him.

It's a battle of the entitled.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Garbage are doing it for their fans, lol..

Yeah, that bit was sick-making.

Both parties come out of this looking like spoilt tossers, tbh.

 

[Orang Utan]

Hmmm. Little man?

I've just had a brief perusal of his website. He's not so little. I'm guessing neither you nor I could afford to book him.

He's got clout enough to stick up for those who are continually and habitually being ripped off.

 

[Mr Moose]

I'm working to rule until we get the Fugazi autobiog we deserve.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

He's got clout enough to stick up for those who are continually and habitually being ripped off.

Yes. But I don't think that's what he's done here. His ill-considered, premature rant has probably done more harm than good.

In his case, as a 'celebrity' photographer, he's using his photos of famous people on his website to sell his services. They will have image rights over those photos, but I'm guessing he has arranged permission to use them without paying the artists a fee for their faces.

To repeat, I don't defend not paying for reuse. But his self-righteous indignation rings very hollow for me, I'm afraid.

 

[Mr Moose]

'I can't use what I can't abuse'. He should have seen it coming tbf.

Three old duffers churning out bass driven alt rock by numbers fronted by Indie gobshite by numbers. 'Twas never going to end well.

Never felt less than calculated, but they filled a gap in the market.

 

[Fez909]

Garbage themselves like to go public with self-righteous rants:

Dear Kanye West

It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry.
You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like BECK.
You make yourself look small and petty and spoilt.
In attempting to reduce the importance of one great talent over another, you make a mockery of all musicians and music from every genre, including your own.
Grow up and stop throwing your toys around.
You are making yourself look like a complete twat.

Ps.I am pretty certain Beyonce doesn't need you fighting any battles on her account. Seems like she's got everything covered perfectly well on her own.

Seems like the photographer used their own template against them. "disrespecting artistry" only applies when it is musicians; that's what she's saying. That's why the letter makes sense to be public: he was trying to get them to admit that all artists, including photographers, deserve respect. And instead they sent a passive aggressive letter that makes them look like cunts.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

He's picking on one of his 'lesser' clients, tbf. I doubt he'd have called out Bowie or Deborah Harry in similar circumstances.

 

[gabi]

Butch vig was the pre cursor to X factor as I recall. He auditioned girls to be his lead singer. Brilliant producer and decent drummer, but obviously a pretty ruthless businessman.

 

[Spymaster]

Fuck the little man, eh? How dare he complain? And in public! How very dare he!

What an awful post. Fuck knows why Fez liked it.

Not only is it missing any point being made on this thread by several light years, it also smacks of the petulance exhibited by the stroppy snapper.

Are you related?

 

[Orang Utan]

Nope. But trust you to side with the baddies.

 

[Spymaster]

Nope. But trust you to side with the baddies.

There are no baddies.

There's one outfit asking cheekily but politely to use some work for no more money than has already been paid, and a childish pillock trying to make a point but failing, and looking a knob to anyone with a little more commercial awareness than a potato.

 

[Mr Moose]

Garbage themselves like to go public with self-righteous rants:

Seems like the photographer used their own template against them. "disrespecting artistry" only applies when it is musicians; that's what she's saying. That's why the letter makes sense to be public: he was trying to get them to admit that all artists, including photographers, deserve respect. And instead they sent a passive aggressive letter that makes them look like cunts.

I hadn't read the 'J'accuse' against Kanye West. It's amusing that she thinks, at 48, anyone in the contemporary music world would care about her opinion esp as Garbage's influence on the current music scene looks minimal to say the least. Ok, that's unfair, zero.

Desperate 'look at me' stuff.

 

[Orang Utan]

Fuck off, Spymaster. It's someone rightly complaining about a bunch of millionaires trying to rip him off. Many of my friends work as designers and illustrators and are always getting asked to work for free, or ripped off, or paid late, not by small businesses, but massive moneybags organisations. Fuck these chancers. They deserve to be exposed. Most people who get ripped off by them have no clout to complain about it.

 

[editor]

I get my photos ripped off all the time but what really fucking pisses me off is when some big company asks to use my work for their own commercial purposes while telling me that they have "no budget."

It's not unusual for companies to assume that artists/photographers/musicians should be the only unpaid people in their commercial projects. And they can get the fuck off.