October 2011

In June of 1997, one of the radio stations in town (now defunct) put on the usual hodgepoge summer concert spectacular comprised of all the top people who they were playing at the time. It is a tradition throughout the industry that if you “make nice” with the radio station b=y playing their show, they will keep playing your records, or, if you are new they will start playing your records.

I would always ask for a photo pass, because it was a good way to get photos of many bands, both established and up and coming. One of the bands playing that day was Veruca Salt, a local band that was famous for about 5 minutes. They looked kind of cute and sassy so I took a few pictures of them.

After their set, we were all waiting around in the pit for the next band, a very weird set comprised of one half of the band Bush (Gavin the singer- Mr. Gwen Spefani and Nigel, the guitar player) doing acoustic versions of a few Bush songs. As they were very popular at the time, it was a perfect time to photograph the two guys on a big stage with good lights.

Into the pit walked a very harried manager type, who proceeded to pass out contracts to all the photographers, telling us that we couldn’t photograph the Bush guys unless we signed the contract. Many of the photographers pulled out their pens, but I proceeded to actually read the contract! Imagine my surprise when I found out that the contract was for Veruca Salt. I yelled for everybody to stop, and I asked the guy why he was bringing us their contract after they played (illegal and unenforceable- you can’t ask someone to agree to something after the fact; they have to be given the right to read a document beforehand and decide if they want to sign it). He admitted that he had forgotten to get them signed before the band went on. He told us that he worked for a big management company, and he forbid us to shoot Gavin and Nigel until we signed the contract. I tore up the contract and handed him the pieces as the Bush guys took the stage, and proceeded to photograph them. There was nothing he could do. The rest of the photographers followed my lead.

Too bad neither band had any real success after that and the pictures are pretty worthless!!

I have been watching the new season of Bored to Death, the fine HBO series on Monday nights. The stars of the show are Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galafianakis. Great stories and great acting. Every time I watch it I am reminded of some time spent with the star of the show.

In February, 1995, my friend Dan called me to ask me if I wanted to photograph a new band he was managing called Phantom Planet. I went to the House of Blues and met the band who showed me a cool passageway in the backstage area that had a Blade Runner feel to it. When I finished the shoot, the drummer was the only guy who stuck around to talk and even helped me carry my equipment to my car. We talked a lot about his starring role in the movie “Rushmore” but not much about his famous relatives- Cousin Nicholas Cage, Uncle Francis Ford Coppola, and Mom Talia Shire (Adrian from the Rocky movies.) The most amazing part of all this that a kid born and raised in privilege to Hollywood royalty was one of the most down to earth people I have ever met in this business- one of the truely nice guys.

Skip forward to 2000, and I was tour managing Brian Wilson. We played two nights at the Roxy in Los Angeles. I new that Jason was a Beach Boys fan, so I called Dan and invited him to bring Jason to the show. After the show, I found them in the back of the room and asked them to follow me to the dressing room to meet Brian. Jason laughed and told me he didn’t want to meet Brian, he just wanted to steal Brian’s empty Diet Coke can off the  keyboard on stage. I told him to go for it – he did. I hope he still has it as a souvenir!

Shortly after that, Jason left the band to be a full time actor, but the band still called me whenever the came to town. During one of those stops, Jacques Brautbar one of the guitarists showed me a little point and shoot camera that he had just purchased. He asked me for some photo tips, and became one of my long distance students:

http://www.facebook.com/jbrautbar

He must have gotten pretty good! Here is a quote from his Wikipedia bio:

He left the band in 2004, after their self-titled third album, to pursue a career in photography. Brautbar’s photo credits include Rolling Stone, Spin, Nylon, Jane and High Times magazines.

Wow- another student hits the big time

Just flew round trip to NYC this week and used it as an opportunity to read a great new book by my friend Aaron Cohen, the associate editor of Downbeat. His book is part of a series by Continuum Books. Each book dissects the making of a classic album. Aaron picked “Amazing Grace” by Aretha Franklin, the best selling gospel album of all time. A lot of people who write these books are fans who write about the album as a fan. But Aaron incorporates into the narrative not only the making of an album and the coming together of a group of people at the height of their careers, but also includes an examination of race and religion! He packed a ton into 150 or so pages and wrote in a manner that makes it impossible to put down.

This book reminded me of an Aretha experience that I had in the late 1980’s. I was assigned by InStyle magazine to cover a Christmas party at Aretha’s house outside of Detroit. The details were: Aretha cooks a Christmas meal for 20 or so of her closest friends, including many members of the Detroit Pistons. After dinner, the Temptations play in her living room! Sounds like a great time.

Went out to the airport to catch the short flight to Detroit. At the gate, I picked up the USA Today sports section. First thing I noticed was the headline about the great matchup in Los Angeles that night between the Lakers and the Pistons. Oh well, no Pistons at the party. Got to Detroit in the late afternoon so I could take pictures of Aretha cooking, rented a car and headed to Aretha’s house in the suburbs of Detroit. First thing I saw when I got to her house were two giant catering trucks parked in the driveway! Oh well. No Aretha cooking pictures! During the party, guests sat around and ate catered food! The biggest stars were some local Detroit TV anchors. Then came the entertainment- one Temptation (not an original member) singing with a karaoke machine!

Oh well, at least the plane trip was uneventful.

Over the last few weeks, I have been scanning my Kiss file and thinking back of my time with them. Kiss was the first big band that understood the idea of photography helping define their image. As big as they got, they always allowed people to shoot the whole show. It was an embarrassment of riches- wherever you pointed the camera, a great photograph was happening. Every Kiss show was the ultimate photo op!!

In the 1980’s, their career went on the skids, and so did their photo policy. In the beginning of that period, things were still good, and photos were plentiful. The band was playing without makeup, and they wanted pictures out there.

But then, things went downhill. In 1987, I was working for the Oprah Winfrey Show. They were doing a show about Jackie Collins, celebrity author, who had just released a book called “Rock Star.” They had already booked Pamela DesBarre, the legendary groupie and author of the book “ I’m With the Band.” They needed some rock stars, and called me for advice. I looked at my calendar and saw that Kiss was going to be playing in the area the day after the taping. So I called their office, and found out that Gene and Paul would be delighted to be on the show. This show produced the famous moment when Oprah asked Gene how long his tongue was and he replied “Long enough to make you a happy woman.”

After the taping, their road manager came up to thank me and asked me if I was shooting the show the following night. I told him to put a pass at the box office for me. When I got to the venue (50 miles away in northern Indiana) I found out that I would be allowed to shoot the first three songs and only license photos to one publication! I went backstage and found the road manager- he told me that the word came down from Gene. I asked him to ask Gene if the rule could be changed. He checked with Gene and came back and told me no. I handed him back the pass, got in my car and went home. I never photographed them again.

The final chapter in the story occurred when the band put the makeup back on and went back to world domination. Their road manager called me before the tour to tell me that the band had come up with a great way to get photographers in the fold. I asked him what it was. Here is his explanation: “First off, you get to shoot the whole show from wherever you want. At the end of the show, I will meet you at the side of the stage with an envelope. You will put all of your film in the envelope and write your contact info on the outside. We will then pay for all the processing! At that point we will send you back 5 or 6 frames approved by the band for you to use to send to magazines. The band will then own the rest of your photos, but you will have some great shots to send to magazines!” After a shocked silence, I asked him who had agreed to this. He answered “Plenty of people.” I asked him if any of the known photographers who had helped the band get to where they were had agreed to the terms, and he answered “No- I don’t understand it.” I tried to explain, but I was wasting my breath.

Hey, good folks at Nasty Little Man Publicity:

My name is Paul Natkin, and I have been photographing in the music business for 38 years www.natkin.net , although I rarely leave my house any more due to the restraints put on photographers at most rock shows these days. Recently, your company has come under some discussion concerning the photo contract used for the Foo Fighters on their currant tour. I am curious to see if you would like to open up a civilized discussion on this subject. Someone from your company was quoted by City Pages in Minneapolis as saying:

“The language might be severe but that really isn’t the intent. Its just to protect the Foo Fighters from having their image sold and licensed without their knowledge or control.”

My observations are as follows:

1. Does this mean that the band is concerned with images being used for something other than editorial purposes? If that is the case, why not present a contract that says: “Photos taken tonight of the Foo Fighters can be used  for editorial purposes only. Any other usage must be negotiated in writing with the band.”

2. Is the band concerned with any particular publication? Why not add that to the contract? List the publications that the band does not want the photos going to.

3. Does the band really want the copyright to everyone’s photographs without paying for it?  First off, it is very doubtful that anyone is going to get anything great shooting three songs- most long time professionals will never agree to the three song rule in the first place. So why is it so important for the band to own such mediocre images? A better idea would be to let people shoot as professionals, and then ask them for a disc of their ten best images, clearly marked with all of the photographers contact information. THEN… if the band is in need of some good photos, they can negotiate fair market prices for usage of any of those photos. I will not leave my house unless I am allowed to shoot the entire set, or at the least most of a bands set. At that point, I want the band and/or management to see my work, as it will most likely result in a sale (at an agreed upon fair price) or will result in even more increased access the next time the band tours.

4. There seems to be some kind of disconnect regarding the amount of money photographers are making on licensing fees these days. In January of this year, I added up every licensing fee I had received from the agency that represents me for the 2010 calendar year, and divided it by the number of images licensed in that time period. It came to an average of $18.10 an image. At that rate, it is not worth my while to grab my bag and leave the house to shoot when the contract states that I can only supply images to one magazine. Most publications today don’t pay enough to even cover gas and parking, so the only way I can earn a living (such as it is) is to be able to license images to as many legitimate publications as possible. This never seems to be a problem when bands are coming up; it only crops up when the band is big enough to be able to “control” their publicity.

I just received my invitation to the 10^th anniversary party next month at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in NYC. One of my proudest moments was when I was accepted as one of their photographers, having my images hanging among the work of all of my idols! I carefully edited the images that I wanted to show. When I had printed them all. I made this observation: the most recent image that I show was taken in 1994. Tells me that I have not taken any photos in the last 17 years that I am proud enough of to display in the galleries. Right around the time the restrictions started getting really bad- and I pretty much stopped going to a lot of shows.

Last point: Record companies are now releasing Greatest hits and Box sets from bands that were around during one of the golden eras of music photography- the 70’s and 80’s. Not a week goes by without someone calling to ask to see my images from a band who has been around for 20 years. Most times I have a lot to show them, and they end up using a lot of my stuff. So the question has to be asked- What is going to happen 20 years from now when companies are asking for photos of the bands of today? What are they going to do with hundreds of photos taken from the soundboard for the first minute of every show? What about all the great moments in the second half of every show?

So, Nasty Little Man publicists. I would love to hear from you, if you would like to respond, either in public or private, and explain why the contracts that you send out work for you.

Sincerely,

Paul Natkin

paul@natkin.net

(773) 255-1290