SARAH GINN VS SUB FOCUS - A CIRCULAR LIGHT

In December 2021 I pitched a collaboration project to Sub Focus called ‘A Circular Light’ - This is the start of Visual Concept Music Photography and complete seamless photographic branding of a live act, in this case using a number of photographic techniques to create circles in all photos taken.

A Circular Light was one of the pitches I wrote and approached artists with to launch the concept of VS. VS is explained in the intro in this section of my site and is now called XX. This side of XX is where a live act and a visual team/photographer collaborate on an equal footing to create a one off art house project over 5/6 gigs. This also means the artists mixing up mediums with each other. This pitch included the pre-cursor to The Feedback Loop Theory (available under The Theories tab), and the final aim is to carry out an exhibition or make a tour book which is then backed up by music theory alongside branded photos. This is to produce an inspiring project for the audience that moulds together an artists identity, with intentional and collaborative music theory.

Although this pitch never came to pass in the end, it’s a good example of how XX will work and the genesis of such projects. It also is one of the more detailed pitches showing how shooting a circular rig with circular style photos can visually brand an artist.

PITCH COPYRIGHT NOTICE & BREACH SYNOPSIS

Sebastian Weingartshofer of Worship Artists (www.worshipartists.uk) has declined to engage or publicly apologise to me for legal threats & plagiarism (in my personal opinion) of my intellectual property after I made this public. Over 2.5 years later, no damages have been paid or compensation arranged. Sam Neill (samneill.photo.com & also represented by Worship & Kode Media - www.kodemedia.com) continues to use my concept for his work with Sub Focus after never using the concept before my pitch arrived. This is despite working with Nick for a number of years.

From July 2024, Sebastian Weingartshofer & Sam Neill implemented excessive and aggressive unfounded (in person & via phone calls) reports of Harassment against me to The Metropolitan Police. This was an effort to intimidate me not to file my civil IP infringement claim, and to hide this page & my personal experiences (and evidence of the IP Infringement) from public view. I was questioned in Oct 2024 & received no charges from their accusations. However, I was taken into custody at 8am for questioning in only my bedwear/underwear while it was resolved, which severely traumatised me and that has taken a long time to fully process. There is no civil gagging order or NDA in effect so publication of this information and my experience is legally permissible.

FULL COPYRIGHT BREACH DISCLOSURE

Please to bottom of page for further images from tour artwork, Sam’s version of my work and a selection of screenshots from other photographers and Sam after I called this out publicly on his Instagram page. Plus threats of legal action from Seb at Worship via email for publicly stating plagiarism online in April 2023.

The screenshot DMs demonstrate an unsolicited message from a photographer I didn’t know, it has been recorded on this page as an example of the bullying, harassment, intimidation via private DMs that has come my way since I made this fully public. Full transcript is available on request (company is northworks.io). Please also see attached Sam’s response via private DM where he gaslights me about plagiarism (in my opinion) of my work. I feel publishing them is the best course of action, to highlight the reaction to protecting my intellectual property on one occasion.

I believe these DM’s are quite aggressive in an attempt to silence me, and to save face. Some contain misogynistic slurs that are sadly extremely common from male photographers (sexist gatekeeping/bullying is standard within electronic music photography, echoing a recent UK government report on misogyny within the music industry). This gatekeeping by male photographer collectives (who I’ve never met) at all electronic venues and festivals has stopped me working for 6 years in any capacity at all. I’ve also not allowed to join any of these media teams and my requests to network with them have been entirely ignored. These photographers have instigated smear campaigns to stop me being booked & blocked my work requests to people who did want to hire me (who assumed I was too busy etc). They have often engaged in sabotaging actions if I’m rarely hired via brands, including banning my stage access and banning my work from social media (despite its quality). This occurred at a number of festivals I did in 2024 independently for Vuse, such as Gala, Rally and Gottwood (instigated via their media team Khroma Collective). Adding to this I’m also only recommended or hired by women in general at an 80/20 percent split, so due to discrimination I also receive a lot less work by default. Lastly, I’ve been a target of cyberattacks by multiple male photographers and Sam in relation to exposing this particular IP theft & been called amongst other things - ‘crazy’, ‘cu*nt’, ‘prick’, ‘whore’, ‘dick’, ‘bitch’ ‘batshit mental’ etc by these male photographers. As they feel it’s acceptable to talk in this aggressive manner to a female photographer they haven’t met/worked with via unsolicited private DMs/abusive calls in this way. When I started to publish their comments online like I’m doing here, these male photographer associates of Sam tried to convince other men who know me via my social media, to bully me too, assuming they would join in with their discriminatory actions.

This also explains why most media teams and photographers in electronic music are nearly 100% white and male. As a result of this lack of diversity, effectively I’ve been entirely bullied out of a profession I’m very well known in/immensely skilled in. This realm of photography is incredibly cutthroat for everyone involved, men included (and bullying is very common), but women have worse treatment as they suffer from systematic discrimination from the off, which becomes more acute if they are talented. This is very similar to the structural barriers female DJs face, who suffer exactly the same issue.

In an effort to overcome this via my own talent, the XX projects were born to provide a productive way out of this situation. Because sometimes blockages can really push you creatively, which is ultimately a great thing to use to your advantage. But taking on a female creatives ideas without credit/payment is also considered misogyny, which unfortunately Sam has further implemented here (this is demonstrated in the link below). He also makes a habit of banning photographers (of any gender) shooting for individual acts from stages at festivals, so engages in this behaviour to suppress any others shooting. Which is very similar to how other event media teams gatekeep work, as mentioned earlier. This is mainly done to not benefit the client (who obviously wants the best quality photographers) but to keep all of the available work to themselves, and entirely monopolise it. These underhand methods of control happen because they lack the photographic skills to warrant being given all the jobs. And in this particular case, the work was not Sam’s original concept, it was mine.

https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/police-forces/wiltshire-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/we-are-listening/definitions-of-frequently-used-words/

Rather than answering my public comments regarding the theft of my work on his Instagram, Sam blocked those so his followers wouldn’t see them. Then he proceeded to message me privately in this way, not believing his comments would ever be shown. He denied copying my work to others who left posts publicly (which is shown by my pitch and his photos) and also denied his managers legal threats against me (which are published below) stating harassment after I left one post which he had already blocked (conversations are displayed on the bottom of this page). He then also blocked those users so their posts are not visible & reported my only communication to him on his page as bullying to instagram (see bottom of the page for the comment removed). Other photographers started to mass report my defence messages which has resulted in multiple automatic instagram warnings. This is classed as mobbing in an effort to shut down my Instagram. Multiple attempts were also made to hack my account. I now don’t use this account to protect myself.

Harassment claims/reports are often used to slander/smear victims or accuse them of crimes for defending themselves from harassment, and for publicly exposing what they have experienced. In this case calling out plagiarism/unfair treatment. This is such a standard go to accusation towards whistleblowers, it cuts across all segments of society. Recent whistleblowers in Hollywood who openly call out child abuse/criminal activity, have also been accused of harassment by the individuals they have exposed (and similar crimes such as stalking etc). They are often reported to the police & accused of these crimes. This is an act called DARVO. Which means deny, attack, reverse victim and offender. Regularly used by perpetrators and psychological abusers (of both sexes), as a manipulative tactic to avoid accountability for/hide their actions. As is getting other people to harass the (real) victim by proxy, as Sam did with his photographer colleagues. These people are called ‘flying monkeys’ and are often instructed by people who exhibit Machiavellian behaviour to abuse the whistleblower, sometimes not even realising they are being manipulated themselves to carry out this kind of abuse. It then starts to turn into a ‘groupthink’ mobbing situation quite swiftly, where individual critical thinking is ignored to preserve the cohesion of a group. Which is why smear campaigns are so effective (even when they aren’t based on any concrete evidence or facts). So it’s clear DARVO/flying monkeys are being used here by Sam and Sebastian & is their go to accusation and defence (with an added assistance of severe misogyny perpetrated by my peers), to push back my publishing the truth of what happened to me. This of course as mentioned previously, is fairly standard behaviour when dealing with these high conflict personality (often psychopathic/narcissistic) types. It’s also very predictable as they do it to everyone who holds them accountable for their questionable actions. So it’s not personal but just how they operate. A definition of flying monkeys & DARVO is available below:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/women-autism-spectrum-disorder/202010/are-you-narcissist-s-flying-monkey/amp

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO

This situation remains as reported below with no movement either side. I have not been sued so far regarding this matter for defamation and my emails to Worship’s legal council remain unanswered. So effectively what that says is that none of the information on here is false. So I’ve decided to move into a new career at this present time via writing. This overall experience has been incredibly frightening, affecting my mental/physical health long term. I have also been told I’m unlikely to be hired again in music for calling out such a huge management team over two years ago now, due to the power of their agents. As a result I’ve been fully blacklisted in drum and bass and beyond for publishing this information thus far by Worship and Sam. A genre I worked on and off in for 15 years, and covered extensively at fabric in London.

Please also see links to Worship’s actions regarding the transmission of Covid by one of their DJs, so their modus operandi has fallen into prosecution/criminal areas before. Many online articles regarding this have been removed due to litigious threats from Worship. Or they have been known to threaten people via email directly with industry blacklisting as their first line of defence against people speaking out.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/03/british-dj-escapes-prosecution-after-sparking-new-zealands-first-omicron-scare

After Worship missed the deadline I set for a resolution on this IPEC civil case on the 3rd July 2024, and I have not been successful in resolving it so far, this page will remain up permanently and publicly for reference.

UPDATE JULY 2025

Unfortunately, after my aforementioned pre-court mediation offer/terms expired on the 3rd July 2024, Sebastian Weingartshofer (of Worship) and Sam Neill started to report me to the Metropolitan Police for harassment on the 7th July 2024 (so just before I was about to officially start filing my civil case and 3 days after my pre-court offer deadline). I was questioned on 14th October 2024 by the Somerset & Avon Police who the case had been passed to and in the end, wasn’t charged with any crimes. There have been many phone call reports of harassment made to the police that still continue to be carried out to this day, after the matter was investigated fully on the 14th October 2024 (particularly by Sebastian). Adding to this, they both started virulent smear campaigns stating harassment within in the music industry. This is largely in an effort to detract from the evidence shown on this page which they want to force me to hide from public view (via DARVO tactics). It is clear my work was passed to Sam to financially benefit Sebastian, as he manages Sam and Sub Focus. It also points towards what could be viewed as weaponising of police time, to not only hide this evidence but also to halt the civil case, which was obviously delayed due to this incident. It was ascertained by the solicitor on duty during my questioning that as all civil cases are on public record, this was another effort to hide their wrongdoing.

As a result the new mediation/pre-court offer deadline for this case is the 13th August 2025 and will be served to Kode Media (Sam’s agency representative) and the direct emails of the defendants. After this point official papers will be served to the defendants in person, when it’s concluded all evidence will be publicly viewable (as previously mentioned). I would have served this to Sound Advice LLP directly as instructed via Sebastian's email below, but they are now denying they represent Worship (email to be uploaded shortly). As of end of July 2025 Kode Media have also refused to cooperate, stating I should ‘get in contact with Sam directly’. Which of course I can’t do as Sam is ignoring any communication relating to my Pre-Action protocol (and Kode Media did not pass on his legal representation contact details when I requested them). They have ignored all my emails, phone calls and prompts to enable me to progress this civil claim against a photographer on their roster, and also done their very best to hide the behaviour of Sam. As to not muddy the reputation of their agency, over a more ethical approach of resolving it in house.

UPDATE AUGUST 2025

In the end, pre-action protocol was completed and consisted of 5 official letters directly emailed to Sam and his entire agency between 13th May 2025 and 13th August 2025 (the same protocol was also sent to Worship Artists). So it is clear every action is being used to bully me, intimidate me, ignore me entirely & destroy my credibility/reputation. Adding to this blacklisting me, so earning ongoing funds for my civil action is challenging (although not impossible). All in an attempt to stop or make civil legal proceedings difficult, not pay for an NDA/damages, and also avoiding public accountability.

I am also being accused of harassment for something that is very common in the music industry. Civil cases such as this are well documented and publicised (and the finer details of them) such as the recent Four Tet VS Domino Records civil case, which was widely published within the music press/via social media. Therefore Worship would consider Four Tet’s actions harassment if they are to judge him and myself equally over contractual and IP civil disputes (as we have acted in the same manner). Four Tet has actually been far more vocal about it, stating updates on his X account. In his case he was punished by Domino via taking his album streams offline for a time. So civil cases do often have retaliating behaviour arising from them in some form or another.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/20/four-tet-settles-royalty-rate-dispute-domino-records-keiran-hebden

These oppression and intimidation tactics in my opinion, are a direct reaction of the irrefutable truth of my work being copied, and me showing solid evidence of that (and the evidence of Sam & Sebastian’s legal threats & harassment against me). It also points strongly towards guilt, as innocent people just wouldn’t go to such lengths to hide knowledge of this situation & halt a civil case. Ultimately, this page could not be removed by civil means as it would have had to be an untruth to do that (via defamation or cease and desist). So instead it ended up in the defendants using the police to intimidate me (by proxy) with excessive, false and consistent police reporting for almost a whole year now. An NDA or damages settlement would have been the best course of action for this dispute and that’s a normal occurrence in the music industry. However, the defendants (who could quite clearly afford it) haven’t chosen this resolution. As I’ve not signed an NDA or ever been offered one, I may speak about my personal experiences freely, and publish this information on my website.

Finally, in my opinion, involving the police, lying in their statements/and omitting emails such as the one published below, plus pushing unfounded accusations onto me has ultimately opened them up to risks of serious criminal charges, such as Perverting the Course of Justice. Under Perverting the Course of Justice this is a category 1 level crime (this also protects civil cases). Which is punishable with 2-7 years in prison due to me being falsely accused/held in custody and the huge damage to my career/reputation. This will be reported to the police at the same time the civil claim pre-action letter expires (to be investigated by the CPS if they feel the need to do so and have sufficient evidence). Thankfully, the police can see what is occurring here, so I’ve not heard from them since October last year when I was questioned (despite the continued reporting Sebastian & Sam are attempting, that I’ve heard they are doing from industry sources). So I feel very protected in this instance, and I was treated exceptionally well by The Met & The Somerset and Avon Police who gave me a lot of support after they got involved.

If my police complaint isn’t progressed, the fact that it is on file is another good outcome in this instance, to enable me to move forward in peace. Therefore the civil case will continue as planned & legal action then can’t be reported as harassment to The Met due to my civil plans/own complaints being on the record. It also serves as a paper trail when other victims of Worship come forward. In my opinion, if you feel crimes have been committed against you by this photographer and management team, I urge you to report online via The Met police website.

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/perverting-the-course-of-justice/

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2025

Neither Sam Neill or Sebastian Weingartshofer have communicated (via legal council) with me prior to civil court action (with the deadline being the 13th August 2025). Kode Media & Sound Advice LLP have also entirely ignored all pre-action communication (all parties including Kode Media, have blocked me on Instagram so I’m silenced). Therefore this case is being prepared for the civil IPEC court as the main route to get the matter resolved. Both parties have been reported to The Metropolitan Police for Perverting the Course of Justice via an official video recorded counterclaim statement. These plans were stated officially to the defendants on the 13th August 2025 for transparency (so they’ve had prior warning). NDA’s & compensation offered from this point on will only be applicable to halting civil action/removing evidence from this site. They cannot apply (via the Victims & Prisoners Act 2024) to any future criminal charges Sebastian & Sam may incur from my statement. This is if it ends up supporting other complaints, where further info and evidence could be requested from me as part of those investigations. This is due to The Met not progressing my own complaint for further investigation at this time (a perfectly fine resolution IMO, most importantly it’s officially on the record). I fully believe it is not if, but when, other victims will come forward to the police regarding the behaviour of the defendants. With great relief/gratitude after giving my own statement, this part of the story has now ended.

As of October 2025 they both continue to report my own personal opinions and experiences detailed on this page to The Met regularly, in unsuccessful attempts to get it taken offline. Sam continues to use my concept of circles (since March 2023) for every Sub Focus gig/press shoot he is hired for, with recent images posted on Nick’s X account and Facebook page by his management (from Nicks recent show in Los Angeles & Sam’s cover shoot for DJ Mag). MC ID has also stopped performing as Sub Focus’s MC after almost 20 years. Due to my own experiences & other anecdotal stories reported to me across the industry, my personal assumption & opinion is this came to pass due to corrupt management dealings. Sebastian’s & Sam’s legacy of this particular dispute has been bouts of ill health over the past 12 months that I’m currently recovering from. Plus the forced retirement of my music photography career (due to blacklisting, financial issues & the chronic stress I’ve experienced). I’ve also been too frightened by this experience to continue. So by proxy (via his association with his managements unethical behaviour), this sadly is also the legacy of Sub Focus. The artist that I still consider the absolute best fit for such a forward thinking project, who had no part in this dispute, and is the biggest drum and bass act in the world.

Real time updates will be provided as the case progresses. In the meantime by publishing this information I have protected others from harm. Now that I have stated my experiences for these reasons, the universe will balance the scales of justice as it sees fit.

THE FUTURE…

The VS projects (now called XX) I have created over the last two years serve as a record of work that is in my mind completed already, as they exist via my pitches, which I am satisfied with despite my opinion of plagiarism in this particular case. This concept is the zenith of my efforts within the medium. The theory side of this concept will be published as the SETS theory on this website in due course. This represents a positive movement forward for my work by switching mediums into writing for the foreseeable future. Rather than see this as experience as a setback I’ll use it to strike new ground. I’m so incredibly proud of this work more than anything.