{"id":361437,"date":"2025-12-21T07:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T07:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/361437\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T07:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T07:16:10","slug":"sleep-token-accused-of-using-photo-for-merch-without-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/361437\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleep Token Accused of Using Photo for Merch Without Permission"},"content":{"rendered":"

And yet again, Sleep Token<\/a> find themselves in the midst of some bullshit with creator, who was probably a fan but who knows anymore now. Photographer Laura Loana V has just accused the band of stealing one of her photos to use for their merch, and we all know who we can likely blame for this one\u2014their management (probably).<\/p>\n

Loana posted about it on Thursday, December 18, claiming that a photo she took of the band during their Copenhell Festival performance back in 2023 was used for one of their imited-edition Sleep Token \u201cRitual Coin.\u201d The band sold the coins at their 2024 show at Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany, but it looks like this particular style has been pulled from their website<\/a> as of now. <\/p>\n

Her post read:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019t been succesful in establishing a communication line with the band directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019s an unacceptable situation, so hoping to get to the band management directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease share and help out ????\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Photographer Daniel L\u00f8nberg echoed Loana, saying that a similar thing<\/a> happened to him with the Copenhell photos he shot as well. He posted a video earlier this year saying how one of his photos was sourced from Tumblr and used for merch without the proper clearance, though he said his situation was \u201cresolved\u201d under the guise of the image being used as \u201cinspiration\u201d rather than straight up reproducing it. Yeah, okay.<\/p>\n

Loana, like the rest of us, would\u2019ve been remiss without mentioning the recent hubbub<\/a> between Sleep Token and tattoo artist Emily-Jayne (InkITEJ), whose Instagram account was shut down after Rico Management delivered a copyright strike specifically for Sleep Token-inspired tattoos. Understandably, fans and creatives were not down with this shit, so they had the copyright claim reversed.<\/p>\n

Loana made an edit to their post the following day (Friday, December 19), adding this to the caption:<\/p>\n

*edit. Management finally got in contact so let\u2019s see what solution they will have to this\n<\/p>\n

I think the general consensus now is that Sleep Token should fire Rico Management. They\u2019re fumbling y\u2019all\u2019s fan bag, for real.<\/p>\n