Posted on 09/30/2010 4:23:56 PM PDT by a fool in paradise
...At most concerts these days, when the houselights go down, the tiny glowing screens go up. As more fans mark the moments with smartphones, cameras and pocket-sized video recorders, a new kind of digital divide is emerging. Music lovers who try to document and share the essence of concerts are squaring off against those who think that just defeats the purpose. The debate is drawing participants from both sides of the stage.
"I'm right here. This is live. This is where the show is."--Natalie Merchant
...Chris Robinson, 44-year-old singer for the Black Crowes, isn't on board. "As a band we've been trying to string together these moments, the kind of moments I've had as a music fan that have blown my mind. That's not happening when you're texting or checking your f—ing fantasy league stats," he says. "I personally think you should be too high to operate a machine at our concerts."
...Artist manager Ian Montone, whose charges include the White Stripes and Vampire Weekend, says his bands aren't crazy about playing to a wall of cameras. "Having the first 20 rows of an audience standing motionless and acting as ersatz cameramen can be obnoxious to the artist, other fans, and takes away from the concert experience..."
But his acts don't want to play bad cop. "Within the last year and a half it became such a losing battle," he says. "You're not going to kick out the entire audience."
...Since 2007, YouTube has provided a program that lets copyright owners monitor such fan-made music videos, allowing a record label, for instance, to drop in ads or "click to buy" links. Of course, they can also choose to remove the videos, or just look the other way...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Rock PING
I have recorded during a show and yes you miss the experience of the show....unless you have a tripod,
This made me break out laughing. What a sad generation. They could be stoned, baked or hammered. Instead they just use up bandwidth. Sad.
My son just went to a concert and he and everyone around him were filming. They do it for fun like tourists taking photos. It says “I am here!”
The quality is never that great. I do not believe viewing these replaces being there.
Afew concerts I’ve been to you can not have any type of cameras phone or regular. Two of the last ones were zz top and gov’t mule.
I’m going to my first concert in years next Friday - Muse in Oklahoma City. I might snap a pic or two on my iPhone, but I won’t waste time recording any video. I can’t wait to see the show. Gotta thank Glenn Beck for turning me on to them. Judging from the concert videos and I’ve watched them all, one of the best live acts ever.
Lovely sentiment to live (or die) by.
I don't have a problem with recording during a concert. Instead of a T-shirt they capture a moment. They'd be happier if the audience spent their money on merchandize for a memory but I'd rather have a moment in time I could revisit whenever I wanted to rather then a shirt I'll never wear.
I can't agree with comparing a concert to an illusionist act. The illusionist relies on mystery. Taken out of the moment can ruin the magic trick. A musician or singer creates an auditory experience you can enjoy even while looking through a tiny lens.
Seems these recorder types are really not experiencing the experience, purpose of the entertainment or able to communicate to others their lives very well. So what they attempt to do is document how important they are within their epoch...similar to taking pictures in front of a mirror.
Interesting points, these artists would be smart to not restrict nor encourage this; it’s a cheap version of marketing or a form of in channel advertising. I’ve seen many of these pirated flicks, all worthless. The only thing these artists should prevent is use of professional recording equipment, having undisturbed and fixed location well above the show floor.
Thanks to TV, the Internet, the cellphones and other electronic toys, people forgot how to experience the here now. The jerky amateur videos on Youtube are more real than the actual experience of being at a show. Virtual reality defeats reality.
I absolutely love “Uprising”!
Spoken like a true Rocker :)
At the concert venue I worked at one of the biggest pains for guest services was keeping audience members from recording. We would tell them before they came in, then the ushers inside had to get on them if they started. Same with pictures. Many times the guests seemed not to understand this was not our rule, but the performer’s.
As one who has been to literally hundreds of concerts over the decades - big, small, medium - sometimes it comes down to whether I want to experience that particular concert for its pure enjoyment, or want to 'document' some of it to keep as a visual memory of the event. It really comes down to who the act is, what venue they're playing in, and whether I want to be distracted playing photographer or just want to enjoy the show ... sometimes its both.
And then there is the hassle of bringing a camera .. some acts are anal about audience photography (Paul McCartney), and some acts could care less (The Who) .. and then there is the venue security and such. Sometimes its just such a hassle that I'll just leave my camera home.
Note: I'm talking about still photography, not video, which is a whole 'nuther issue
-- MM
MM:
“As one who has been to literally hundreds of concerts over the decades - big, small, medium - ....’
Hundreds???
(I’ve probably been to less than 35... counting everything!)
...So-as one who does not get to attend a lot of concerts I have to say I’m really glad some people manage to get videos of some of the shows.
I enjoy the Youtube vids online of live shows!!
Junie K.
Case in point, I went to a night launch of the Shuttle a few years ago. I set it to wide angle & just kind of panned it upward without looking through the viewfinder. The result was REALLY bad video, and the view in Hi-Def from NASA cameras put it to shame. The viewfinder isolates and removes the cameraman from the reality of the moment.
On the other-hand, I went to a lot of concerts in the ‘70’s and always brought along my trusty Sony TC-40, the same model recorder that went to the Moon on Apollo missions.
I usually smuggled it into the venues by hiding it in the small of my back. Its all glorious mono cassette sound, but I have a record of many great live performances that I still listen to to this day.
Your “rights” end when they interfere with the other patrons who don’t like seeing a glowing handheld device held up in front of their view repeatedly for 20 minutes out of a 60 minute performance.
Take a snap and then put it away. Be aware of the crowd around you. It is possible to get a good digital photo. For many people it takes a ratio of 10:1 to get that good shot and so they shoot 250 hoping for 25.
Alternatively, bands could set someplace “ringside” to fans to queue up to get their “closeup” shot of the band and then return to their seats while those who are content to just watch the show can do so uninterrupted.
Digital camera devices are like the nuclear bomb. We aren’t going to return to a day where they don’t exist (which is why some civic venues have a “no PROFESSIONAL camera” policy which can refer to removable lenses or some other arbitrary condition). It’s actually in the bands’ favor to only permit “good” cameras to be used since the band doesn’t look as good with subpar equipment and skills.
It's become a different experience. Status seeking, "look at me". They snap an instamatic print of what they did 4 hours ago to share with their extended circle of 450 closest friends.
I've seen "buzz" bands that draw a big crowd to a nightclub "because Jack White likes them". They shove up to the stage, stand there for 2 songs, take some cellphone pics, and then leave the venue after 2 songs. Mission accomplished.
Not everyone who takes a cellphone picture is after this cheap thrill, but it IS a segment of today's "hipster" music audience.
I happen to like having shots and recordings from concert events I was at. Some bands started offering live show CD-Rs after the set (been going on at least 10 years, they had the equipment all lined up to sell them at the venue night of the show, others did online sales days following the concert). Why not also have a digital kiosk (or website) where you can cull through select shots from the night's performance?
There is a market need that could be met. People probably wouldn't pay $250 a photo, but they would probably pay $5 a shot for some 4x6 prints of their choosing.
Ken Kesey and the Pranksters stated goal was to try to learn to operate light and sound equipment on a whole lot of acid. To overcome what was going on inside their head.
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