Vampire Weekend and Label Comment on 'Contra' Cover Controversy

Posted on Jul 19th 2010 1:30PM by Carter Maness
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Ross Gilmore, Redferns

As previously reported, New York afro-punk rockers Vampire Weekend were recently sued by Kristen Kennis, the model used for the cover art for the band's 'Contra' album that came out in January 2010. Kennis filed a $2 million lawsuit with the bold claim that a signature on the release allowing Vampire Weekend to use her photograph was a fraud. Now, finally, the band and its record label are responding to the model's accusations.

"As is standard practice, Vampire Weekend and XL Recordings licensed the rights to use the photo on the cover of 'Contra' pursuant to a license agreement that contains representations and warranties authorizing this use of the photo," says a statement from the band and its label. "Now that a lawsuit has been filed, we look forward to having the matter resolved in court. We will be filing our response after we have had an opportunity to review the allegations. Consistent with our practice, we will not be commenting further about the pending litigation at this time."

To parse through the legalese of the statement, Vampire Weekend are basically saying that they have a legitimate license and will address any concerns that Kennis might have. By claiming they will "file a response," it's likely that a counter lawsuit is on the way. How rock 'n' roll is that?