A Dutch photographer and lawyer is seeking compensation from a clothing brand that improperly used his image.
Photographer J Salmeron has been banned from attending future Arch Enemy following an argument with the band's former vocalist and current manager, Angela Gossow .
After one of his photos of singer Alissa White-Gluz was used on the Instagram account of the clothing brand Thunderball Clothing, Salmeron asked for compensation, but was banned by Gossow.
Salmeron recounted the events on Metal Blast and included the email correspondence with Gossow, as well as photos of the brand's Instagram post.
White-Gluz had posted the photo taken by Salmeron on her Instagram, and soon after, the brand Thunderball Clothing shared it, mentioning the outfit the singer was wearing, pieces that were made exclusively for her by the store. Salmeron then messaged Thunderball's founder, Marta Gabriel, and explained that they do not have permission to use her photo for commercial purposes.
"So far, my photo has received 200 likes and has been viewed by her ten thousand followers, in addition to fans who searched for the singer's hashtag and found her post. The use of my photo without my authorization is a violation of copyright."
The photographer continues the email saying that he is normally paid €500 by companies that would like to use his photo, but he says he could forget the "problem and just ask for a €100 donation to the Dutch Cancer Institution".
After his email was forwarded to Arch Enemy, Salmeron, who also works as a lawyer in the Netherlands, received a message stating that "all sponsors and fan clubs of the band have permission to use photos of the singer," alleging that Thunderball had this permission.
Salmeron reiterates that it is a copyright infringement, since the band does not have permission to authorize the use of their photos; that permission belongs to the photographer. Upon sending the email, he discovered that he was corresponding with Angela Gossow, the band's frontwoman between 2000 and 2014, who now manages Arch Enemy.
Gossow said he removed Salmeron's photos from all social media and also banned him from attending the band's upcoming shows. "I imagine you understand that you are no longer welcome to take photos at any future Arch Enemy performances. I have copied the record label representatives and the booking agency on this email, who will notify all show promoters."
She also said that "no band would want to have photographers at their shows who would later send threatening emails to monetize their images." To conclude the email, Gossow also revealed that Arch Enemy frequently donates money to charity, but will not do what the photographer asked, because "they like to donate to whomever they want, whenever they want."
When questioned about the matter, vocalist White-Gluz said that she responded to the last email because she was defending her friend. She also confirmed that she will no longer use the photo in question, but that no one has tried to use it commercially, as the clothes she was wearing in the photo were made exclusively for her and Thunderball does not sell them in its store.
Loudwire reached out to Gossow for comment, and she stated that the band would release a statement regarding the situation. Nothing has been released so far.
The clothing brand Thunderball posted an apology on its Instagram to J Salmeron, stating that as soon as she received the first email, Marta Gabriel forwarded it to the band, as she is not authorized to speak on their behalf. She also said she is willing to speak with the photographer and discuss a way to compensate for the inconvenience.
In 2010, a similar situation also occurred with Arch Enemy. After complaints about copyright infringement, Anouk Timmerman was prohibited from photographing the band's shows.