Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Lady Gaga’s new song “Stupid Love” leaked onto the Internet last weekend. The singer wasn’t happy. As the recording was going viral and social media started buzzing, Gaga called out music lovers who had listened to the unauthorized release.

“Can y’all stop,” she tweeted, sharing two photos of a girl wearing a ski mask while listening to music. The message was crystal clear: those who were listening to the track or spreading it were promoting music piracy. However, the pics she had chosen had “Shutterstock” watermarks all over them. The company noticed it. The company spoke up. And all hell broke loose on Twitter.

More info: Twitter

After her song leaked onto the Internet, Lady Gaga responded with a short, clear message

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: ladygaga

According to findings by the market research firm MusicWatch’s Annual Music Study, there were 17 million stream-rippers in the U.S. in 2018. That number went up by 2 million from 2017. The term “stream-ripping” refers to the type of music piracy where users transform a file from a streaming site like YouTube or Spotify into a downloadable copy. Currently, this is one of the most popular ways to pirate recordings.

Since the Napster era, a lot has changed in the music industry. But the pirates adapted. And although streaming services like Spotify offer a free tier, piracy allows individuals to play songs offline. Experts estimate that 46% of stream-rippers pirate music for this very reason, while 37% simply want to own songs they don’t like enough to pay for.

So we can understand Lady Gaga’s disappointment.

However, she used pirated pictures in her tweet and Shutterstock was quick to point it out

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: Shutterstock

When it comes to the photographer behind the stock photos, his name is Richard Nelson, and he doesn’t seem to mind not getting paid for the usage — he even Tweeted out a version of Lady Gaga’s message without the watermarks for the singer to use.

“[Lady Gaga] making one of my old stock photos viral,” he wrote enjoying the attention. “Hahaha. I just had to share.”

However, the whole situation had ignited an online debate. So far, most of the photographers seem to side with Shutterstock: copyright is copyright, and not just for musicians — it needs to be respected and defended for all artists, including photographers.

And Twitter immediately exploded

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: bloodyfarah

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: itscatalin

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: sardonicheight

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: GagaNews1986

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: MicahBBurke

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: ImRichardNelson

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: TS7Track3

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: LadyGagaVegas

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: stanningaga

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: LGMonsterFacts

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: sbstryker

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: sckberry

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: sbstryker

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: FAMEKILLED

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: fabbgrat

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: familiaespos

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: minotaurmonsta

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: TheluxurySoul

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: EsteValencia

People discussed the issue on other platforms as well

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, Bored Panda bought these images

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: shutterstock

Lady Gaga Calls Out Music Pirates With Pirated Photos, Shutterstock Calls Her Out

Image credits: shutterstock

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

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What do you think ?

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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

It's ridiculous how some people think that stealing isn't stealing when the thief is rich and famous. "Oh, she just used that picture in a tweet, so that isn't stealing." and "Oh, we'd loved if she stole some pictures from our agency. Free publicity!!!"

40points

RoseTheMad 4 years ago

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ShireenAin'tWoke 4 years ago

The fact that people think you can use a picture with a watermark on it without paying for it is astounding. Unless the artist or website is royalty free, you need to pay for it.

22points

Luke Bouley 4 years ago

That watermark is just a giant "STOLEN" stamp.

15points

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Rissie 4 years ago

I guess some people didn't get the irony of stealing pictures while asking to stop stealing music. Shutterstock did see the opportunity to mention this in light of it being their business also... It's just a bit stupid to not pay a small amount of money to so done that actually makes their daily bread with it by someone who has an unnecessary amount of money to "raise awareness" to play nicely :)

16points

HAHASAIDTHEKLOWN 4 years ago

she´s just being controversial for marketing purposes, it is her MO

1point

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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

40points

RoseTheMad 4 years ago

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ShireenAin'tWoke 4 years ago

The fact that people think you can use a picture with a watermark on it without paying for it is astounding. Unless the artist or website is royalty free, you need to pay for it.

22points