Vampire Weekend Album Photo Sparks Lawsuit

Ever wonder how this random Polaroid of former model Ann Kirsten Kennis wound up being the cover of Vampire Weekend‘s album Contra?  Well, apparently so does Kennis.

In a back-and-forth dispute between Kennis and Vampire Weekend’s label XL Recordings, the former model has claimed that the photo was used by the band without her permission, with the label responding they correctly licensed the rights to the photo.  The result?  Kenner is suing the band and their label for $2 million.

Read the full story and pick sides after the jump.

At the core of this debate is a war-of-words between Kennis and the photographer, Tod Brody, who released the picture to Vampire Weekend’s label.  Kenner argues that the photo was taken by her family years ago, and found out about it’s highly publicized appearance from her daughter.  “Her daughter came home one day and said, ‘Hi, mom see your picture?”, said her attorney Alan Neigher.  Kenner and her attorney are also claiming that Brody forged her signature when he signed it over to XL Records.

Brody’s claim is that he took the photo 26 years ago stating, “I took the photo in 1983.  The photo was in my possession the entire time, for 26 years, until it delivered to Vampire Weekend,” adding that any wrong-doing is “blatantly false.”

Neigher originally stated that the photo was taken by Kennis’s mother, “Her mother was a chronic Polaroid snapshot taker, and used to sell whole archives of photographs to these shops, five bucks a hundred or whatever,” but has since admitted that was only speculation, and has no idea who took the picture or how it wound up in the hands of Brody.

Renowned entertainment lawyer, Dina Lapolt, recently shed some light on the controversial suit, “Claims made regarding ownership of the copyright in a photograph are very common in the entertainment industries,” she says. “Unfortunately, at times we have no way of knowing who the actual photographer was unless proper work for hires were signed at the time the photos were taken – which is not always possible.”  Lapolt offers a piece of advice to up-and-coming musicians who may not be aware of potential complications such as these, “Artists must always be wary of using photos on their albums unless proper chain of title can be traced.”

Even with the story hitting every entertainment website, magazine, and newspaper, and the potential loss of $2 million, XL Recordings is not budging an inch on their stance, “Now that a lawsuit has been filed, we look forward to having the matter resolved in court.”

So you now that you’ve been briefed on the matter, what seems more plausible?  That Kennis’s photo was stolen by the hands of a diabolical photographer?  Or is she trying to get her hands on some serious cash money.

(Source: EW)