07 October,2011 07:07 AM IST | | Sheetal Sukhija
Members of a leading band spot T-shirts with their logo being sold illegally at a shop on Brigade Road; file complaint after manufacturers are clueless about matter
The bargain might have been tempting at Rs 150, but the logo of a local Metal band -- Kryptos -- of international acclaim being used illegally on the T-shirts has kicked up some noise.
Seeing red over pink: The main reason for the band members' ire is
that the logo of the band was printed on pink T-shirts
For most bands in the city, especially those that have tasted international success, the main way of generating revenue is by selling official merchandise. For band members of Kryptos, customised T-shirts, caps and wristbands with their logo brought in a decent fortune. Interestingly, while a few of the band members were taking a walk down Brigade Road, they came across a shop displaying T-shirts sporting their logo illegally.
"It was absolutely shocking to see T-shirts with our logo. What was disgusting about was that we are a metal band and this fake logo was printed on pink T-shirts. Our fans also told us that they saw the same T-shirt in yellow, brown and green," said Nolan Lewis, Vocalist, Kryptos.
The manager of the band was also irked and his actions proved louder than words.
"We sell our official band T-shirt for Rs 500. We took the T-shirts being sold at that outlet and burned them. We have registered a complaint against the illegal manufacturers at the Cubbon Park police station and are hoping the cops would take action soon," said Salman Syed, band manager.
Meanwhile, even as the band members continued to answer fans on social networking sites, much discontent about the issue was apparent amongst other musicians from the city.
"It is absolutely disgusting and I think it is just a concerted effort to destroy a strugglingu00a0u00a0 music scene. The band sells T-shirts to generate revenue and if someone is trying to make money by printing fake T-shirts now, it surely is a disappointing trend," said Rajeev Kumar, a musician.
When this reporter contacted the manufacturers, Tejasvee Creations from Chikpet, staffers claimed to have no clue about the origin of the T-shirts.
"Usually the back end staff is assigned to pick up local trends and print them on T-shirts. We do not know about how this lapse occurred and will look into it," said Prakash, manager, manufacturing unit.
Meanwhile the Cubbon Park police have taken up the case and investigations are on.
