Bakery owner criticises ITV's The Voice over free cake request
A bakery owner in the UK publicly criticized ITV's The Voice for requesting free cakes for guests and judges in exchange for exposure. The production company, Lifted Entertainment, apologized and promised to prevent such requests in the future.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the ongoing tension between large media corporations and small businesses regarding the ethics of 'exposure' as a form of payment.
Image source, Instagram/getbakeduk Image caption, Rich Myers says other independent bakeries have experienced the same type of "abysmal" request
An independent bakery owner has said it was a "kick in the teeth" to be asked by The Voice UK to provide the ITV show's guests and judges with free cakes.
Rich Myers, 37, from Get Baked, which has its flagship store in Manchester, described the request as a "total disgrace", adding that large companies should not ask small businesses to supply products in return for so-called "exposure".
Myers shared the email on Instagram, which said ITV was unable to pay but the food would be seen by "highly influential" coaches, presenters and contestants.
Lifted Entertainment, which makes The Voice UK for ITV, apologised and said "steps had been taken to ensure this type of request is never made again".
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