SARAH GINN STUDIO
FOR ISSUES REGARDING SAM NEILL & WORSHIP ARTISTS - PLEASE SEE POINT 1 BELOW
PLEASE NOTE AS OF JANUARY 2025 I HAVE TAKEN ON A FULL TIME ROLE AS AN ACCOMMODATION MANAGER AT THE UWE & THE STUDIO WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. THIS IS TO DUE TO THE BELOW ISSUES RELATING TO MY PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS & ALSO TO COMPLETE THE FEEDBACK LOOP THEORY AS A LONG FORM BOOK AS A TOP PRIORITY
THIS ESSAY WILL BE PERIODICALLY TAKEN OFFLINE WHILE THIS PROCESS OCCURS
1) ENFORCED HIATUS FROM TRADITIONAL LIVE/EVENTS MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY & STUDIO CLOSURE - SAFETY PRECAUTION DUE TO INTIMIDATION INCIDENTS & CAREER BLACKLISTING - ARISING FROM PRE-FILING AN IPEC CIVIL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CASE: SARAH GINN VS SAM NEILL & WORSHIP ARTISTS
Due to an industry backlisting resulting from the pre-filing of a planned (& public) civil alleged IP Infringement claim, against photographer Sam Neill & his management Worship Artists (in my opinion) I’ve decided to leave all traditional live music photography at this time, as there is no work at all for me currently in electronic music. The highly political nature of the music industry has now caused many clients to no longer hire me, after publicising the alleged IP Infringement evidence & filing this case (in my opinion - & after the complete loss of all booking opportunities in drum and bass and larger music festivals since March 2023 when the plagiarism occurred). Retaliation blacklisting of individual creatives who don’t have powerful agents/money/record label backup/expensive lawyers etc to their disposal over IP disputes/contract disputes/pay disputes etc is extremely commonplace in this industry on multiple levels, and considered a normal everyday occurrence. This shows how unregulated the music industry is, and it’s very risky to pitch original concepts for standalone creatives such as myself. In this case it was Sub Focus’s management & despite my long history in D&B (including RAM records), pitching this project was ultimately a risk that didn’t pay off. I’ve unfortunately been blacklisted in retaliation for exposing the alleged plagiarism & choosing to legally protect my IP (in my opinion). This can also occur by default as people get too nervous to book me as to not effect industry connections with popular artists, and sometimes kickback even comes from fans. But ultimately, I’m immensely saddened that this has happened for both parties.
However, these type of projects (Sarah Ginn XX - Please see intro tab above) were also pitched to The Chemical Brothers and Underworld’s respective managers at the same time with no issues. They decided to pass after considering my pitches & went no further with my original concept. So I have no regrets in pitching my work, it was an excellent project and extremely forward thinking. The reasoning behind these projects is to create art house meta ‘tool’ products that are theoretically and visually inspiring for the audience. As time as gone on my work has switched into a more intentional practice, with the audience well-being at the forefront rather than a means to sell products. Such projects need conceptual live acts to carry them out, of which there are only six artists approximately in the UK I can pitch to. It’s a shame I’ve just been very very unlucky in this instance. Civil cases over claiming owed monies (& the finer details of them) such as mine are generally well documented, much more than I am doing so here. This is demonstrated with the Four Tet VS Domino Records damages claim about streaming rights/payment. His plans to sue were widely publicised via his social media and the national/music press (see below). That case was even fraught with difficulties for him, as he publicly stated Domino had removed his album streams in protest when the case was filed (thus affecting his income, like what I’m experiencing on a much more extreme level). This case is remarkably similar but it relates to a damages payment over the alleged usage of my IP, by a photographer on the same management as Sub Focus (in my opinion).
https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/20/four-tet-settles-royalty-rate-dispute-domino-records-keiran-hebden
I will re-file this claim in March/April 2025 as it has been unfortunately been delayed due to the following reasons. I’ve only just returned to social media due to past legal threats & mobbing incidents resulting from exposing this copyright infringement (in my opinion & email/screenshot evidence). Adding to this, Sebastian of Worship Artists & Sam Neill reported me to the Metropolitan Police on harassment accusations on the 7th July 2024 regarding an email I sent in September 2023. They reported this email (along with one more recent one) 3 days after my pre-court settlement deadline expired (4th July 2024). This was approx 10 months after they first received it and in the same week I was about to officially file my case (email evidence/my opinion and legal advice).
I believe they also continued to call the police, accusing me of harassment on numerous occasions each time I published my evidence of Sam’s alleged plagiarism/their legal threats & my civil court case plans online on this site and on social media (in my opinion). They could not remove the information I published publicly on this website via civil means (via cease and desist/defamation suit, which they threatened in April 2023 but never implemented). They also couldn’t halt/hide my civil court case without meeting my pre-court settlement terms and paying for an NDA (which they chose not to do). Subsequently the official case filing & its details would have then be on public record for everyone to view (in my opinion and legal advice). After these options were exhausted, rather than settling this objectively in the IPEC civil court, Sebastian and Sam finally used police time to excessively report me for harassment. This was to hide the plagiarism evidence & to intimidate me so I wouldn’t officially file my case (in my opinion).
For details of this infringement please see the Sarah Ginn XX Sub Focus tab above
These actions occurred over 3.5 months entirely without my knowledge, until I was questioned by the Avon & Somerset Police end of October 2024. I was not arrested or charged with any crime from the outcome of that investigation, and received no court orders, fines, convictions, community service, letters of apology etc. I was given a warning/caution for the wording of 2 emails over a two year period. Most importantly I was still allowed to progress a civil case via Worship’s lawyers. We were both banned from contacting each other as the last outcome (which was the best result). I would like to thank the Avon & Somerset police for assisting me in this matter as they were extremely kind and helpful during this very challenging process. I have unfortunately been very sick since this point and it’s taken me some months to recover, with subsequent serious health issues arising from this incident. Therefore after the investigation they referred me to the Nelsons Trust, a woman’s charity within Bristol. I’ve been working with them over the past three months to rebuild my confidence/recover and I’m so very thankful for that assistance.
The above factors will now be submitted as potential evidence of intimidation that could strongly support my case due to its timing (in my opinion & from legal advice). They are also officially ‘on the record’ recorded actions & as mentioned before I have not signed a civil NDA/gagging order regarding them. So I can speak freely about my personal experiences & opinions on my own website/social media. I do feel that making these personal experiences public is absolutely essential for the greater good of the wider music industry. Due to these varied negatives, I’ve made a decision to completely close as a precautionary measure for my personal safety (which is my personal opinion and decision). It acts to peacefully diffuse this dispute for all parties while it is settled objectively via the IPEC, as all allegations are alleged (unless on the record like the above investigation) until a legal decision is made. Worship & Sam do need a fair civil case despite the above situations occurring.
Sadly after 15 years shooting I’m not planning on returning presently. I believe with these current circumstances (& other negative factors listed below) it’s not an option for me now. I feel personally it’s been made very hazardous for me to continue music photography. Therefore it is best to draw such boundaries in this instance.
Finally, one last reason for disengagement is to entirely remove myself/ignore an expected & foreseeable ongoing smear campaign against me which has been going on for at least a year (another incredibly common industry occurrence for contractual whistleblowers). This is until it dissipates naturally over time. While this is in progress I’ll be working on other academic writing based projects & I’ll also be concentrating on a new 9-5 role. Then, once the case particulars are officially filed and/or basic evidence is presented in the Sarah Ginn XX Sub Focus tab above, people can then objectively make their own judgments whatever the legal outcome.
Phew…I feel like I did a good job explaining all of that…kinda lengthy…
Soooooo in the meantime….
To get in touch with me please see my contact details on the contact page. I’m currently open to any work outside the music industry or music artwork/merch shoots etc. Plot twist: It’s going to be amazing :-)
2) THE MAJOR ISSUES &…SETTING GOOD INTENTIONS & HAVING MORE FUN…:)
Unfortunately as mentioned before, traditional live music photography/photography as a whole has now become an extremely hostile place for me. Its been made impossible for me to carry on shooting for the following reasons:
The main issue is I’ve been effectively bullied out of it entirely by my peers. Once the media team collective model came into effect in 2018 (despite extensive marketing directly to these events/venues and teams) I’ve not been allowed to join 90% percent of them. This has resulted in me now going back into full time employment within the education sector. This was especially apparent after returning to the industry in mid 2021, resulting in me being on government benefits since late 2021. On average I’ve received one offer of work every two months (from 80 percent women/20 percent male). When I am rarely booked some of those clients proclaim they are lucky to get me because I must be so busy/would be too expensive/wouldn’t want the job. So there is an intimidation factor and an extremely positive assumption in booking me, which means I’m pretty much never offered work directly from the top people. Or people assume I’m just too run over with offers. When I do extensive emailing/calling to prospective clients (as I have been since mid 2021) those requests are often blocked by my peers at source.
Often media teams are put together via recommendation or word of mouth so it can be quite easy to completely ostracise someone out, which is what has happened to me. Particularly as I am not part of a music photographer collective & despite expressing interest in joining these collectives none of them want me. I’m a well known female music photographer with a lot of experience and talent so there isn’t a place for me, that’s unfortunately worked against me within this system for the last 5 years or more.
This silent misogyny/oppression coupled with this extremely positive assumption (that cuts out any direct enquires) has been catastrophic for my business since 2018. The work I managed to get this summer has been actively gatekeeped/blocked off social media & my stage access denied (while getting rare jobs for other brand clients) in various ways by these largely all male media teams. This is to suppress it from people who book music photographers and social media followers. Post Covid it is also now much more difficult budget wise & there is an overcrowding of the market with newer photographers/less events across the board. So it’s just got way more cutthroat with photographers vying for work. I’m a threat to that work, hence these issues.
As mentioned before I’m only hired by women 80% of the time and have been since the start of my career. This has led to a lot less work via unconscious bias & active discrimination, which is a huge problem in all photography and the music industry. This has effected my photography bookings across all sectors, not just music. So I can’t diversify that easily and avoid these issues as my speciality photography is in male dominated areas such as brand projections/installations and music. In short men don’t tend to hire me at the same frequency as male shooters and I’m not recommended by my male peers by and large (which is how a lot work is shared and connections made).
Lastly, I’ve experienced various and extremely serious negative issues from multiple parties regarding my civil case mentioned above. So for many many reasons this is now a dead end I have to leave. Obviously major bummer right? Or is it though? So now that spiel is done let’s get onto the good news…
Having said that, despite the issues with the media teams at events, I’ve did had a great run work wise this summer through Wunderman Thompson via brand placement and of course a great time with Arcadia (thanks guys!) and that work is viewable on this site for your enjoyment :-) Ultimately, reality works to make me feel good and I’m currently not centering myself and following the Wu Wei of life to take advantage of that. These situations are happening FOR ME, rather than against me, these metaphorical dams are protecting me from unhealthy environments. These dams are actually like beaver dams, because they now create whole new eco systems in different, ethically sound and exciting new areas for me, that were previously empty. Its just unfortunate my talent in photography has caused many of these problems and forced me entirely out of that work, but it is what it is. Occurrences like this are never personal, & the key is to just be productive/creative in other ways and not dwell on it any further. So lets now get onto ‘The Pruning Shears of Revision’ as Neville Goddard talks about to change this…
I’m now seeing this lengthy (and possibly permanent) break away from the traditional events focused music industry in an extremely positive light. This is called the observer effect in quantum physics, where what you focus on becomes your new reality. I can now see new unexplored zones for my creativity, to expand into and break out of my comfort zone, which is an amazing outcome. Forcing the end result in a classic Newtonian sense isn’t working, so I’m completely letting go of ANY outcome. A strong mental attitude also looks for the best in any situation, even this one. I also need to look after my health as it has really suffered due to burnout from these experiences. I’m now actively & urgently on the hunt for completely new clients and focusing purely on that, for bookings in any sector for more positive moves and to have more fun…. So if you have something you would like to collaborate with me on please get in touch at sarah@sarahginn.co.uk. Who knows what that may bring to me…
To the people who want to openly support, celebrate & encourage what I have to offer, my doors are open….
‘Be open to everything and attached to nothing’
Wayne Dyer
3) THE FEEDBACK LOOP THEORY & STAGE ENERGY TRANSFER SYSTEM:
I’m also completing The Feedback Loop Theory book as a priority, and my Stage Energy Transfer System. So any academic people please contact me, I would love to apply for grants etc to enable me to do this full time/undertake a PHD on the metaphysical/science and spiritual energy of music. I have a lot of writing to do, and these winter months are perfect for that…As I tend to write more at night time. I’m going through a real creative spurt with this and 3 new chapters to The Feedback Loop Theory are currently in the works, because reading and writing is so soothing right now for me. These haven’t been forced either, but stem from the gigs I’ve covered this summer and my at home music listening habits. It has been particularly interesting to me, that my music writing/theory has had more hits on it in the last two years than my photography. So I must follow the divining stick towards it….
4) SARAH GINN XX & PERSONAL PROJECT ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY:
With all this in mind, photography wise, I’m also going to release all of my Sarah Ginn XX music work online over the next 4 months, as example pitches that I’ve sent to prospective clients (including the infamous Sub Focus one). Because I don’t think they should be locked away in my archives but set free as a legacy of that music work. If they are made or not, isn’t really of importance, the ideas and the process is. One of which was Eminem some years ago, who I made a prototype XX pitch for way back in 2018 that was sent to his photographer for collaboration consideration. I’ve been listening to a lot of rap and hip hop recently, rediscovering my love for its craft. This was officially my first XX type project so it’s quite interesting to view in hindsight 6 years later. My Chemical Brothers pitch will be published shortly, because who doesn’t love them! With pitches I worked on for DJ Shadow/Bicep and Fatboy Slim to come. I’ll also be showcasing a lot more analog photography personal work in time, that concentrates on alternative processes, plus aiming my work at corporate clients. Over the last year I’ve been lucky enough to work with Justin Quinnell who’s a great alternative process photographer, and have been on his courses run with Ruth at the St Paul’s Community Darkroom. These have been really inspiring for me. Photography is ultimately a chemical reaction so it’s been great to go back to the bare bones of it. This is more of a ‘slow’ creative process, than digital photography. So in a way is more mindful and I also need to learn new photography skills outside of paid work, as an ongoing professional practice. More unicorn tricks basically. And more fun for me ultimately. Fun is not an optional action for me now, it’s what I need to move forward. It’s also where the best work is made.
5) VISUAL CONCEPT MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY:
Demonstrating music within photography also isn’t all about press shots and live gigs, its so much more than that. And I’ve always been a forward thinker in this area. You CAN do music photography outside of that system, and I’m skilled enough to do that and it’s also AWESOME? I still have lots of ideas that centre around using music scientifically within photography to come. This ties in much more with my theory writing. My last book was mainly photos and a small bit of writing, my next book will largely be writing and some music science experimental images, which I’m working on now. So visual concept music photography is still my remit but it’s just shifted, into more fertile zones. More experimental ones, more forward thinking ones. I need to go in, not control the out. TRES EXCITE as the French say :-)
INTRO TO SARAH GINN STUDIO
Sarah Ginn Studio is a multi media studio that specialises in photography, creative system building, academic writing and lifestyle products. Basically I am that unicorn.
For more information on new projects please view the Sarah Ginn XX tabs and recent music work. I specialise in event and low light photography in particular, and the branding of photos to create a seamless cohesive look for my clients. I also experiment with scientific and military processes through my work and I’ve been a pioneering electronic music photographer since 2007. With ten year residences held at fabric and Arcadia amongst other labels and festivals.
Both fabric and Arcadia have fully influenced my work with their integrated outlook on music performance, and have enabled me to come up with the Sarah Ginn XX projects a couple of years ago. XX is where academic theory and photography collide and are designed to be multifaceted and multimedia projects.
Since 2022 I have started to write, creating meta tool essays to encourage people to make things by combining science, pop culture and metaphysical/spiritual ideas to create The Theories, which are short essays. At this present time the first essay, The Feedback Loop Theory will be available in a forthcoming long form book for creatives to access to see how their art travels through space and time, and why all art is important. Music is a special medium that amplifies energy and my early writing reflects how it acts within a system, like many systems in our lives. The book will be open source so anyone can contact me with their own ideas to add to it. Future theories to be completed are: The Planet Music Theory/The Focus Theory and The Mutual Muse Theory. Some of these are workflow systems to be used to carry out collaborative creative projects, such as the Sarah Ginn XX project.
My work is available through my book Super Sharp Shooter and my photography is extensively shown in fabric’s 25 year book titled: fabric 25. Links to buy these books are below