SXSW 2019

Are Photo Contracts Killing Concert Photography?

Description:

Photo contracts or releases are an increasingly common requirement where press photographers want to photograph concerts. Contracts range from "you can't sell the photos for commercial purposes" to full rights-grabs, meaning the artists claim all rights to the photographs, including controlling and restricting publication.
We will discuss the different aspects of photo contracts and also the rights and obligations concert photographers have according to the copyright laws of different countries. The panel will also discuss the situation in Norway, where the concert photographers and the press organizations stand together and boycott concerts which require a contract. The result is that almost all bands and artists waive these contracts when they play in Norway.


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Takeaways

  1. What are the actual meanings of the wording in a photo contract, and are they binding for the photographer? We will explain the legal situation.
  2. Why do artists want to steal the photographer's work and hijack their intellectual property rights, as well as violating freedom of speech?
  3. Why do artists have different policies with contracts in different countries, for instance in Norway? We will try to explain why.

Speakers


Organizer

Per Ole Hagen, Assistant Professor, University of Oslo, Institute for Musicology (IMV)


Meta Information:

  • Event: SXSW
  • Format: Panel
  • Track: Music Industry & Culture
  • Track 2
  • Level: Intermediate


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