Dear Shawn Hamm,
If you had paid attention to the thing that started this all, you’d have noticed that the photographer Rohan Anderson, simply wanted credit for his work, not payment.
We photogs know very well that the majority of bands get paid very little, and have to deal a lot with people downloading the music, but for the vast majority of photographers life is even worse. We often shoot shows for free, or for next to nothing, like the bands we don’t have the luxury of doing this outside our day jobs.
It’s not a privilege to shoot a band in concert, often times depending on the venue, stage setup, and lighting it can be a pain in the ass, doubly so when we have to deal with prima donna dicks like you.
I’m not trying to cause friction between bands and photographers, I’ve had the opportunity to shoot some awesome bands over the years, and the vast majority of them were very cool, knowing the role the photographer played. After all we are free publicity, the band pays nothing for us, and I’m not aware of any photographer who would not allow a band to use their photos.
What Shawn doesn’t understand is the respect has to cut both ways. A concert photographers work, much like a bands song, is an art form. We take time and energy to create an image from the actual day of shooting to post-production, and when a band like Red Jumpsuit Apparatus uses a photo, cutting out watermark and not giving credit, it effects us. How would Shawn feel if one of his songs were used without credit? Would it upset him just a little? I would guess yes, seeing as he doesn’t even like having his picture taken, and what if the people that used his song without credit were glib after a request for credit were made? How would he react then? Not much different than Rohan did, I suspect.
You also gloss over one very important thing, the photographer, or perhaps the outlet depending on their agreements do indeed own the work from their camera. You may have some sort of agreement attached to a press pass that in someway allows for your non-exclusive rights to the photos taken, but the photographer is just as much an artist as the band on stage.
One last point, besides Rohan, who didn’t really threaten to sue, just threatened legal action if the photo wasn’t removed, who are all these other “photographers” who are suing bands? Do you have any personal anecdotes, stories, or even news reports that you can share to support this claim? Or is it something you’ve just made up to gain the sympathy of your “bands” fans? Given I haven’t read of any concert photographers suing a band recently I can only assume the latter.
I know that rock bands, want to be rock stars, and give some rock and roll attitude, but how about having some fucking respect for the work photographers do at your shows. If anyone should feel privileged it shouldn’t be the photographers, but the bands for that one fleeting moment we work so hard to preserve, not just for us, but for you.