October 2009

An article in the paper this week linked a  number of Hollywood Paparazzi with a series of burglaries of high profile paparazzi subjects houses! It seems that some high profile “photographers” might have shared details of their subject’s security systems and layouts in return for a cut of the profits!

This brings me to today’s subject. A photographer used to be a part of the image making machinery of the music business. On October 21st on  the NPR Blog  Picture Show http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/, the headline read: How Photographers Created Rock And Roll., by Claire O’Neill.

The article was about a book and photo exhibit called Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History 1955-Present by written by photographic historian Gail Buckland.

This quote by Ian Tilton is included in the article:

When I was taking live pictures at big gigs in the ’80s and early ’90s, we were able to photograph the whole set. Then in the mid-90s, someone said, “You can do the first 3 songs only.” … Now the first 3 songs are useless — the band hasn’t gotten into their stride; they aren’t even sweating! And that’s what great live rock ‘n’ roll photography is all about: atmosphere and sweat and the band getting “lost in music.” That’s never gonna be at the beginning of a set. It’s always near the end! Do you think I would have gotten those classic photos of Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar in the first 3 numbers?

So, how did this happen? I say that al lot of the problems started with the elevation of the paparazzi as a legitimate photographer. It used to be that the word photographer was a positive word. It meant a person who legitimately was given access to a celebrity or event to document it for the press and for history. That was before people started jumping out of bushes and swearing at Sean Penn, causing him to get mad and attacked them, allowing the pack of “Photographers” to get great pictures. Last year, BBC America ran a series called “Paparazzi” which documented a photo agency in London. One of the star “photographers” of the agency was a taxi driver, who was hired because he knew all the back streets of London and could drive like a maniac and get in front of celebrities driving through town to get the photo. The fact that he didn’t know how to use a camera never entered the conversation- he could be taught that part of it easily!

Because of these people, the word photographer quickly became a dirty word in the entertainment business. Are the guys that stop Britney Spears car at a stop light and shoot pictures of her with a flash cowering behind the steering wheel really photographers?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed in to law tougher restrictions on paparazzis. More about that next week.

Several years ago, a friend of mine asked me if I could get tickets for her daughter and a friend to see the hot new singer Avril Lavigne. Of course, I offered to take them to the concert with me. I called the publicist to ask for a photo pass and arranged with the promoter to buy a couple of tickets. Figured I would get the girls to their seats, shoot some of the show and then head back to meet them when I was done. They were 14 and perfectly capable of sitting by themselves for a while! A couple of days later, I received the photo contract for Avril by email. What a shock! It was one of the most restrictive contracts I have ever seen- all for a young girl with one album out. (Three songs, could only sell photos to one magazine, photo approval necessary). Of course, I declined to shoot, and spent the show in the lobby of the theater, talking to all the other parents and friends who had brought kids to the event. I wonder if Avril’s career would have proceeded differently if her handlers had not spent so much time “protecting” her from the media. Maybe she would still be able to sell out large venues today. I also wonder if she even knew that this was going on in her behalf!

In the 1980’s, one of my biggest clients was Playboy magazine. They had a section in the back of the magazine called Grapevine. This included a few pictures of starlets that “accidentally” exposed themselves in public, or posed nude on purpose to gain publicity. Interspersed among these pictures were some photos of up and coming musicians and actors, fully clothed but doing something interesting. Whenever a publicist would call the music editor of Playboy to ask how they could get their artist in the magazine, they editor would refer them to me and suggest that they let me photograph the artist. She would then consider the photo for a later issue of the magazine. So… One day I received a call from a publicist from a major label asking me if I wanted to photograph a new artist they had by the name of Tori Amos, who was playing at a small club near my house the next week. I said sure, but we should try to do a photo shoot at soundcheck as she played piano, the club was kind of small, and it would be hard to get a good photo during the performance. We set up a shoot for 5PM the day of the show, and she asked me if I could bring a makeup artist (at my expense). Figuring that Tori would become famous soon, and the pictures would be better with proper makeup, I agreed. I hired a makeup artist ($200.00, the amount I was getting paid for the photo by Playboy, but a good investment for the future). At 4PM, I went home to pick up my equipment and meet the makeup artist to head to the show. I checked the blinking light on my answering machine, and listened to a message from the publicist canceling the shoot, no explanation. I paid the makeup artist and sent her home, The next day I called Playboy and the music editor told me that the publicist had called her and apologized for the situation, telling her that she didn’t realize that the magazine that Tori would be in would have pictures of naked women in it, and since Tori was a feminist, she would be angry!

Last week at Farm Aid, I was talking to a freelance photographer in the photo pit about photo restrictions. During the conversation, he mentioned his problem with what he called “Rights grabs.” I asked him what he did about those kinds of contracts. He told me that what he does is that he signs a fake name and magazine to the contract. This is the same thing that I hear from many photographers around the country. This is good and bad at the same time. The good side: Photographers are “getting away” with not signing the contract. The bad side: Eventually, managers will read these and figure them out, and will come up with bigger problems and more restrictive contracts.

The other problem is that this is not addressing the problem- it is hiding from it! The real way to solve this is to not sign the contract and refuse to shoot. This will eventually open a dialog and maybe (or maybe not) help to eliminate the problem.

When I got back home from Farm Aid, I had an email in my inbox from a singer songwriter asking me if she should sign a contract for a song contest that included the clause that stated that the song she supplied for the contest would become the property of the sponsor. (A musical rights grab). I told her in my reply that in my opinion, any time someone gives up their intellectual property, they were being foolish and that she shouldn’t sign. She called the contest officials and they allowed her to cross out the clause and they would initial it, rendering it null and void. Problem solved. Maybe some publicists and/or managers would agree to the same thing!

One can only hope.

In 1985, I drove down to Champaign, Illinois for Farm Aid, a concert put on to help the small, family farmers of  America survive. Yesterday, 24 years later, I photographed Farm Aid 2009, which for 24 years has helped teach America how to eat properly. The dedication of the staff and board of Farm Aid is amazing, helping farmers nationwide work more efficiently and in some cases, transition to growing organic food.The concert every year is a smorgasbord of musical styles, finished off as they do every year by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews.

This year, they were joined by Wilco, Jamey Johnson  and Gretchen Wilson among others. The weather was perfect, the show was great and a good time was had by all.

I now realize how old and tired I have become, with 13 hours of solid shooting with no time for lunch or dinner!

Wilco was a highlight for me. It is great to see a Chicago band rocking out like I have never seen them rock out! Jamey Johnson could be the new Merle Haggard and Neil Young kicked the crowds butt with his usual mix of great songs and biting commentary and Willie Nelson as usual was the most valuable player of the show!

Willie and Neil                                                   Jeff Tweedy of Wilco

Jamey, Willie and Dave                                                                            Neil Young