Saturday, February 06, 2010
Indie rock bands were happy to be featured in a 2007 issue of Rolling Stone magazine—until they found out with whom they would be sharing the glossy pages. Entwined with a five-page feature about the “Indie Rock Universe” about 100 bands was a four-page fold-out Camel cigarette advertisement, which infuriated a lot of the musicians.
Led by the bands Xiu Xiu and Fucked Up, a lawsuit involving 186 musicians was filed against Rolling Stone, accusing them and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. of using indie rock to promote cigarette sales without the bands’ permission. But the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the ad’s location constituted a violation of misappropriation laws and ruled in favor of the magazine and the cigarette maker.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Rolling Stone Wins Ruling on Camel Ad Placement (by Avery Fellow, Courthouse News Service)
James Stewart et al. v. Rolling Stone (Court of Appeal, First Appellate Court, California) (pdf)
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