Photographer Accuses Metal Band of Using Her Image on Merch Without Permission

A photographer has taken to social media to allege that a rock band used her concert photo on merchandise without her consent.

Photographer Laura Ioana says she took photographs of Sleep Token’s frontman Vessel at the 2023 Copenhell Festival in Denmark, which were later used on a collectible coin sold by the band in 2024.

According to a report by metal magazine Louder, Ioana insists that her image was used without her permission or an agreed contract, and that she was unable to contact the band’s representatives to resolve the matter.

In a detailed Instagram post published on Friday, Ioana writes: “This year I found out the photo I took in 2023 at Copenhell Festival (on an editorial assignment 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.”

She adds that she attempted to contact the band and its representatives by email and direct messages but was unsuccessful.

“I 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,” Iona writes.

Ioana says she was contacted by one person involved in producing the coin, but claims she was “called aggressive” after rejecting what she describes as an unfair settlement offer. She writes that she hoped to speak directly with the band’s management to resolve the situation.

“As a small creator, it is a bit disheartening when you do something with passion, and it gets stolen for profit and dismissed like this,” she writes.

The photographer also points to what she describes as a contrast between her situation and the band’s approach to protecting its own copyright. In the Instagram post, she briefly references a previous case reported in October, in which a tattoo artist in Sheffield said her Instagram account was shut down following copyright complaints linked to Sleep Token’s label and management.

However, three days after publishing her post — which has now received over 3,000 likes — Ioana reports that the band’s management has since contacted her. “Management finally got in contact, so let’s see what solution they will have to this,” she writes.

This case highlights the lengths photographers often must resort to in order to protect their intellectual property. The lawsuit comes weeks after a photographer sued rapper Future for allegedly using his copyrighted picture without permission on his Mixtape Pluto album cover. Musician Rod Wave was also recently sued by a concert photographer for allegedly using his image without permission for the cover of his latest album and promotional materials. In another case this month, a photographer took a bold legal step to secure payment from rapper Cam’ron after winning a $51,000 copyright infringement judgment over her iconic photo of him.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.