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This fall, Interpol will head out on a run of dates where they’ll celebrate the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album Antics by playing the record in full. To unveil their tour plans, Interpol used a promotional poster that turned out to be a ripoff of another artist’s work. Apparently, the band had no idea.
Interpol’s tour art looked a whole lot like a painting that the New York-based mural and studio artist Tony Sjöman did on commission. It’s not an exact replication of Sjöman’s work, but it’s close enough to be noticeable. On Instagram a few days ago, a friend of the artist angrily pointed out the similarities between the two works.
Yesterday, the band responded, issuing a statement that apologizes for the theft and says that they had no idea about the origins of that tour graphic:
We were under the impression that the designer we were working with was presenting us with original work. We were wrong.
Ultimately the responsibility lies with us to ensure we do not disseminate an artist’s work without their permission in our promotions, and so for that reason we apologize and pledge to do better moving forward to ensure the protection of the artist’s creative property.
It seems like Interpol and Tony Sjöman aren’t mad at each other. The band included a link to Sjöman’s Instagram in their apology, and Sjöman shared their statement. He says that he’s a fan of the band, and he writes that their quick response is “both rare and admirable!”
It is very weird how some people feel OK about running someone else’s work through an AI filter and then passing it off as their own. Trust me, I know.