Here we go again: another retailer accused of ripping off yet another independent artist without permission, and without offering any kind of payment. This time, a T-shirt sold by Lane Bryant is at the center of the brouhaha. [More]
artists
Apple Music Changes Its Tune, Will Pay Artists During 3-Month Free Trial
By 6.22.15
Breaking news: It appears that musicians would like to be paid for their work. After Apple announced it’d be giving customers a free three-month trial of its new streaming Music service, artists and others who contribute to making music weren’t too pleased to find out they’d be receiving royalties of 70% of nothing for that time period. The company has now changed its tune, and says it will pay musicians after all. [More]
This Hot Topic Brain Necklace Looks Awfully Familiar
By 8.2.12
On her Etsy profile, Sarah writes that she makes sculpted jewelry in her Toronto apartment. Her pieces are cute, like cookie-shaped rings, and creepy-cute, like cufflinks shaped like anatomical hearts. But one of her signature pieces is a set of heart-shaped “best friends” necklaces with the texture of green brains. It’s creepily adorable, and a best-seller. Apparently national chain Hot Topic agrees, since they happen to be selling a very similar design. [More]
Google's New Music Search Launches, But Your Buying Options Remain The Same
By 10.29.09
The new music search capabilities that Google introduced today will make it easier to quickly find a song you can’t remember the name of, or sample some tracks from an artist you’re interested in. But it’s not so much a new service as a more efficient combination of a bunch of services already scattered around the web.
Copycat Company Sues Original Artist To Void Copyright Claims
By 10.28.09
It’s a natural impulse to want to support the little guy, the David who faces down a powerful Goliath. That’s why it’s easy to get behind this guy’s claims that a copycat business is suing him to force him to abandon his own copyrights. Wtf!, you might say when you read something like that. Is that even possible? It is, and the story is more nuanced when you look at both sides, which makes it a good example of why it’s sometimes hard to be a “good consumer” when deciding where to spend your money.
Guy Who Protested Mortgage Denial And Took Out $190,000 In Twenties Ends Up Putting It All Back In Very Same Bank
By 7.24.09
withdrew $190,000 in $20 bills. Take THAT! Then he and his bag o’loot were all over the internet, and he received hundreds of supportive emails. But what to do with $190,000 in $20 bills??? Well, he decided to deposit it at NBS, a rival bank. Good move! Except that… NBS sends its cash to Westpac for safekeeping. Which means poor old Roger’s money is back with the beast.
Who's Scalping Those Concert Tickets? Artists And Agents, Frequently
By 3.11.09
The Wall Street Journal reported today that for many big name concert events, the people behind a good deal of the really expensive secondary market tickets are the artists themselves, along with their agents and promoters. Recent concerts where the artists and promoters resold tickets on the secondary market and split the profits with Ticketmaster include Neil Diamond, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Elton John, and possibly Britney Spears.
Hot Topic Steals Yet Another Design And Sells It As Its Own
By 12.31.08
Once again, Hot Topic is selling someone else’s art as original work. The mallternative retail chain purchased the supposedly original design from Newbreed Girl, which has its own history of ripping off designs.
Gibson Awards Prize To Artist As Promised!
By 1.31.08
Yay Internets! Tonedeff—the artist who won Lollapalooza’s Last Band Standing over a year ago but never received the 10k prize package from Gibson—has received his prize. He emailed us today and wrote, “Thanks for covering the story and your support.
Alleged Gibson CEO Possibly Responds To $10k Contest Story
By 1.26.08
Brand new Consumerist reader Mosten posted a comment including the following response that’s allegedly from Gibson’s CEO regarding the $10,000 prize they never made good on to an NYC hip-hop artist. We have no way of verifying whether this response is legit, but thought it was worth sharing for those who are following the story.
Gibson Screws Musician Out Of $10,000 Worth Of Equipment
By 1.25.08
A musician named Tonedeff won the Lolapalooza Last Band Standing contest in 2006. Part of the prize package was “$10,000 worth of equipment from our friends at Gibson. (yes, believe it!).” Well, Tonedeff believed it, and he’s spent the last year and a half trying to get Gibson to make good on their promise. As Tonedeff notes on his blog, maybe he should have seen this coming when Don Pitts—Gibson’s Ambassador of Empty Promises (shown above with devil eyes)—told him, “I mean, this is kind of weird, because you know, you DON’T play the guitar or drums.”
Baby Boomers a Bust vs. Investment Fraud
By 7.18.06
The LA Times, the Seven-up to our morning NYT Seagram’s, details the rise of investment fraud against baby boomers. The phenom is slightly ironic because the age segment is supposed to boast a higher financial acumen than previous generations. Some of the pernicious tactics con men use to lure victims into their scams include:
See The Fortune 500 Magazine Cover That Was Too Brutally Honest To Run
Fortune magazine commissioned artist Chris Ware to design a cover for their 2010 Fortune 500 issue, so he did. Unfortunately, what he delivered was a detailed, funny, and biting commentary on the current state of our economy–with banker types dancing on the top of mega-buildings that spell out “500,” a factory in Mexico churning out big box merchandise, and a “401k cemetary.” Fortune rejected it, but hasn’t provided any comment on why. Well, okay, it’s probably self-evident why they killed it, but it’s still funny. [More]