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Medium: Printed by Weldon Color Lab on Fujicolor Crystal Archive Digital Pearl Paper (chromogenic print)

Editions:
– Small Format: Limited to 50
– Medium Format: Limited to 25
– LargeFormat: Limited to 12

Sizes:
– Small Format: 61.0cm x 50.8cm
– Medium Format: 101.6cm x 84.1cm
– Large Format: 152.4cm x 125.6cm

Good To Know: Printed to order, artwork is shipped directly from the artist’s studio.

Series: Queen Bey

Arty-Fact: Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself and I” from her Dangerously In Love album was released on iTunes in 2004. It was part of Apple’s and Pepsi’s campaign to download 100 million free songs.

In 2004, the US recording industry pivoted from litigation against teenagers downloading music illegally to engaging with them by partnering with Apple and Pepsi to promote 100 million free download codes on the newly launched iTunes service.

The winning codes were randomly seeded in 20 ounce and 1 litre bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and redeemable for a free song from the iTunes Music Store.

The objective was simple. Get more people to use iTunes and shift user behaviour into downloading music off the internet legally.

To kick-start the campaign, Pepsi released a television ad during the 2004 Super Bowl. The ad was set to Green Day’s cover of ‘I Fought the Law’ and featured close-ups of kids who had been prosecuted in real life for illegal file-sharing.

Unfortunately, the campaign flopped. Pepsi dropped the ball when the yellow-capped bottles with the Apple song codes were late in reaching key markets.

In addition to supply chain issues, there was a big design flaw in the caps of the Pepsi bottles. By simply walking into a store, grabbing a bottle from the fridge cabinet, and angling it against the light, one could read the code without having to buy the bottle, and download the music for free. This trick became common knowledge and word quickly spread, ironically over the internet.

When iTunes and Pepsi discovered that people did not need to buy Pepsi bottles to get their free music, and even then only around 5 million songs were downloaded against the projected figure of 100 million, they decided to abandon the campaign.

Regardless of the unsuccessful campaign, the shots taken of Beyoncé by Markus are retro chic and iconic.

Markus Klinko

Markus Klinko is an award-winning international fashion/celebrity photographer and director who has worked with many of today’s most iconic film, music, and fashion stars.

Markus has photographed the likes of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kim Kardashian, Naomi Campbell and Iman.

His editorial clients include Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and Interview magazine. Brands such as Lancôme, L’Oréal Paris, Nike, Hugo Boss, Anna Sui, Pepsi, Skyy Vodka, and Remy Martin have hired Markus to create advertising campaigns.

Born in Switzerland of French, Italian, Jewish, and Hungarian descent, Markus spent his early years training to become a classical harp soloist. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris.

Later, Markus signed an exclusive recording contract with EMI Classics and a management contract with Columbia Artists Management. He received the Grand Prix de Disque for his recording of French harp music with the orchestra of the Paris Opera Bastille. Markus also performed in recitals and as a featured soloist with symphony orchestras around the world. He was also regularly featured in Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, GQ, The New York Times, Madame Figaro, Stereo Review and Ongaku no Tomo.

After a hand injury, Markus became a fashion photographer and retired from his international concert and recording career.

Isabella Blow discovered Markus’ work at the London Sunday Times and commissioned cover stories from the emerging photographer. Around the same time, Ingrid Sischy at Interview magazine hired Markus for various shoots. Iman and David Bowie followed, giving the up and coming photographer a chance to photograph them for their respective book (I am Iman) and album covers (Heathen).

From there, he created some of the most iconic album covers of our time, including Beyonce’s “Dangerously in Love” and Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi”.