Ally Burguieres to Taylor Swift​: " ... [N]either you nor your team had an intention of staying true to your 'Art is valuable and valuable things should be paid for' campaign."

" ... [N]either you nor your team had an intention of staying true to your "Art is valuable and valuable things should be paid for" campaign." -- Ally Burguieres


Painter Ally Burguieres' image was used without her permission by the singer Taylor Swift. When the theft was pointed out, she offered to pay the artist but only if she (the artist) donated the payment directly to charity. Bizarre, and appalling.

Rolling Stone has the story:

A spokesperson for Taylor Swift has issued a terse response to a visual artist who accused the pop star of unfairly compensating her for a painting Swift had used without permission. 

On Halloween 2014, the singer posted a fan-made watercolor depiction of a fox alongside lyrics to her 1989 song "I Know Places." When artist Ally Burguieres, who created the fox image and sells prints of it for $45, learned that her painting had been appropriated (with the fan's signature adorning it), she asked for it to be taken down. Swift complied, but her response was not what Burguieres expected, especially considering how the singer has widely publicized her desire to champion artists' rights. 

In an open letter to Swift, the painter alleged that it took months for Swift to offer her compensation. "After months of effort, I received an offer from you and your team that mentions no credit to me as the artist of the design, but does include payment of a 'four-figure' amount, with the stipulation that I must donate it all," she wrote. "Taylor, as a professional, would you agree to such terms from Apple, or Spotify? My work is my living ­– it is how I pay bills and support my family and employees."

The entire story is here.