Richard over at Black Shadow Photography has an article about concert photography and the proliferation of Rights Grab Contracts from Pete Jenkins (from the NUJ - National Union of Journalists) posted on his blog.
If you're a music photographer, promoter or in a band get yourself over there and have a read. I've spoken to many people about this problem and the ways different photographers deal with it varies wildly. Some sign them happily, not worried about giving up their rights. Don't do this, copyright is valuable and while you might not be worried about getting paid, your fellow 'togs rely on their licensing fees to pay the rent. Others sign them thinking the contract won't stand up in court but this is risky as it hasn't been tested in court yet and being the first could be very expensive if you lose. Others walk away from the show without any shots but that depends a lot on who you're shooting for and how good your relationship is with your editor.
A number of ideas have been floated in order to address the problem, ranging from a standard contract that is the same everywhere, to an agreed set of guidelines that we all stick to. Personally I have no problem signing a release if my copyright is safe and it's main purpose is to protect the artists merchandising income (by specifying editorial use only) but which way the industry is going to go is anyone's guess at the moment. What do you guys think?
TechnoratiTags:
live music,
Concert Photography,
Copyright,
Rights Grab
posted @ Friday, September 05, 2008 10:10 AM
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