Illinois Artwork

Illinois Artwork A lot of music sites and blogs have been covering the Illinois artwork story but most quoted second-hand sources. It looks like Billboard Magazine has gotten the story straight.

Stevens Album Soars Despite ‘Superman’ Flap
By Todd Martens, L.A.

Not even the Man of Steel could stop the new album by critically acclaimed artist Sufjan Stevens from hitting most store shelves on its July 5 release date. He came close, though.

Stevens’ latest set, “Illinois,” originally featured a comic-book-style cover image of Superman soaring over the Chicago skyline. When the singer’s label, Asthmatic Kitty, realized the image was not licensed, it asked retailers to pull the album. By the end of the release day, however, it was back on most store shelves — if it had even left them.

The confusion began in late June, when the Lander, Wyo.-based label was informed by its lawyers that it should contact “Superman” publisher DC Comics for copyright clearance. (Contrary to published reports, DC did not contact the label first.) Most retailers, however, had already received their orders of “Illinois.” …

Read the rest of the article at Billboard Online

July 12th, 2005 admin

Entry Filed under: Albums