When people who appear on album covers end up suing the band for using their likeness
or image it usually comes down to whether a release was signed,
but it’s rare that another element is thrown in. That’s what happened
to band Vampire Weekend and that’s what were going to discuss in today’s video.
Vampire Weekend would form in 2006, by four students attending columbia university . Their
first album, which was self-titled would come out in 2008, and sold nearly 600,000 copies,
impressive by indie standards. The band soon landed on the cover of Spin magazine
and the band would release their second album through label XL Records titled
Contra in 2010. The album cover featuring a polaroid of a girl . The photo was found
by one of the band members who used the search terms ‘New York City 1983’ on Flickr.
It was around the time of the album’s release that the band’s frontman Ezra Koenig (kay-nig) would
tell pitchfork why they chose the photo for the album cover saying “the first expression that
I read into her was some sort of hesitation. We had a lot of discussions trying to figure out how
old this person was when the picture was taken-- she could be 15 or 27. The ambiguity of her age
and expression made me feel like she was on the cusp of something, which really matches
the vibe of the new album. When asked who she was he would add “I don't want to give
away all the details about the photo just yet, but I learned that she's now living in Malibu.”
The band had offered the owner of the photo Tod Brody on flickr $5,000 to use the photo on their
album cover believing since Brody posted it on the site he owned the copyright to it. Brody claimed
to have taken the photo during a casting session for a television commercial several decades prior.
The photo of the woman on the album cover was heavily used to market the record.
A few months after the album came out, the band and XL Recordings their label
were hit with a 2 million lawsuit by the woman on the cover. The woman on the cover
was named Ann Kirsten Kennis She would claim the photo was used without her permission.
Kennis for her part was already used to people using her likeness and image to sell products.
She had enjoyed a modelling career where her image was used to sell products for L’Oréal,
Revlon, Fabergé, and Vaseline to name a few. These instances didn’t result
in a lawsuit. She signed a release and received a payment for her services.
Contra would hit number 1 in america on the album charts and charted throughout the rest
of the world.. Kennis only became aware of the record after her daughter saw a banner ad online
from barnes and noble advertising the album. Kennis for her part, had never heard of Vampire
weekend before or even knew the photographer who claimed to own the rights to the picture.
For Kennis, It was a moment of rebirth for her as she was now retired from modeling
after 10 years in the industry. She would meet her husband after developing something
called Space Bear teddy bears, which are now called cosmic cubs club. By the time
Kennis saw her photo she had just completed her last session of chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Once Kennis became aware of her image being used on the album cover it became inescapable
as she went about her day to day business. As she strolled through new york city she’d see posters
of the album around the city, she’d hear Vampire Weekend playing in clothing stores she visited
and. She’d even learn from reading the new york times that the band was using the image during
their live shows. Friends of the former model from as far as Europe would claim to have
seen her image in advertisements for the album in their country too
According to Kennis the photo was taken back in 1983. She claimed that the release
forms that are typically signed for these photos was not signed by herself, but rather forged.
In one of the strangest parts of this story, Vanity Fair would write and i quote
“if the Contra case does go to trial, the outcome could hinge on a key document:
a model release form that appears to be dated July 30, 2009. (The date is crossed out and
re-written.) The form is from Vampire Weekend Inc. to someone named “Kirsten Johnsen” (spelled
“Johnson” elsewhere on the form), who signed her permission for the band to use her image
for a fee of $1. The form contains no mention of Brody, but it does include an address named in
the suit as Brody’s residence. No release form from the 1980s has yet been presented in court.
In addition to that she would claim Brody never took the photo, instead crediting
her mom for taking the photo. She would tell Vanity Fair “It’s not even like it’s a Polaroid
before a photo shoot, because the hair’s not done, the makeup’s not done, the lighting’s not done.
Nothing. It almost looks like somebody caught me by surprise,”. “The other thing that’s strange
about this photo is that it’s not taken [in front of a] seamless [back-drop] like it would
be in a photographer’s studio. You can see a door frame there and hinges right in the background.””
But Kennis former agent Sue Charney would tell Vanity Fair "To me it is very clearly a Polaroid
taken at a casting session."[23] The band would stay mum on the lawsuit as it was the first time
they were sued. Vampire Weekend in December of 2010 would file their own lawsuit against Brody
claiming he should misrepresented owning the photo and claiming he should indemnify
the band from any claims from Kennis. Some legal observers claimed that if the lawsuit
by Kennis against the band and their label went to trial a judge may have ruled that
the band didn’t do their due diligence to confirm who actually owned the photo.
Then In August of 2011 it was announced that a settlement had been reached between the band,
their label and Kennis in which she received an undisclosed sum of money. The lawsuit would be
dropped, but the band continue on with their lawsuit against Brody. Then things took a
strange turn. The band couldn’t even track down Brody as his lawyers would end up quitting his
case by June of 2011. His lawyers claimed their client didn’t return phone calls or pay invoices
with his attorneys Lavely and Singer releasing a statement that read. "There has been a total
breakdown in the attorney-client relationship,". "When he finally did respond, his responses became
increasingly hostile and exhibited substantial animus toward the firm." Brody would end up
representing himself in the case. It’s not clear what came of the case but Vanity Fair
would document countless charges against Brody’s and his business dealings that left behind a
lot of angry clients. Vanity Fair would write and i quote There is quite a lot of bad stuff
about Brody on the Internet. An anonymous Web site called the Tod Brody Fraud Blog accuses
him of being a “con-man who presents himself as a producer, film maker, and photographer
in order to gain income through deceiving others.” Brody would refute these allegations setting up
his own blog to dispel the accusations. Brody would pass away in 2015. That does
it for today’s video guys thanks for watching. Be sure to hit the like button and subscribe.