crazyme5kids said:
Oh sorry, my misunderstanding of the situation. They didn't lose the barricade. Although, 20,000 people rushing a barricade generally would do it lol.
Actually about four years ago the same promoter DID lose the barricade when the fans purposely tried to break it down during a show with sevendust and Godsmack as the headliners. When you've got 10,000 people hellbent on doing so, there's just not much you can do to stop them. It's one of the reasons that promoters have HUGE and very expensive GL policies and bonds in place.
About a month ago my nephew called me to find out for him how to go about getting authorized to take pictures of bands performing live. I spoke with my husband about it, it's pretty involved as far as the credentials go.
This is generally true. Some bands are very easy, some are nearly impossible. I also write for a print magazine, so for me it's been pretty easy, although some of the really large bands (Stones) only grant photopasses for daily's. Fortunately the type of act that I enjoy shooting and the venues I prefer working in are perfect fits for the publication I write for.
The publicists don't care about photographers, they are a dime a dozen. What they really want are "words", and my rule is no photopass, no review. When Papa Roach decided to leave me a ticket and no photopass, even though the photopass had been agreed on and I had that in writing, I gave the ticket to some girl and left. They got nothing. It's a two-way street.
There usually is a seperate window or depending on the promoter/venue the photographers head to the backstage entrance where they would get the credentials. They are then brought to a room to sign various paperwork. He did say most of the time there is a room that they can leave their bags and stuff. Most of the time they are only allowed to shot the first three songs. After that the photographers are escorted out of the building.
Press credentials are generally at the "Will Call" window with guest list and Ticketmaster pickup's. The "paperwork" part depends on the act and the venue. At HoB venues you sign prior to receiving the credentials. Some publicists require you to sign and fax back releases before putting you on the list--and the size of the venue has nothing to do with that.
At many arenas you are required to leave your gear in a secure location if you want to watch the show after the first three songs--and you must have a ticket to do so. A few allow you to keep it with you, but it must be left in your bag. First two or three is industry standard, regardless of where you are shooting--club, theatre, arena, or stadium. Also you aren't allowed to use flash. I can count on one hand the times/bands I've been able to shoot the entire show--and then it's usually been a very new/baby band, or where I was the only photographer and had special permission from management because I was doing promo work at the bands request as opposed to for the publication I write for.
So, my nephew isn't going to be doing that type of concert stuff anytime soon. The club route will probably be the way for him to start.
Absolutely. Many publicists won't even take his calls until he's got a portfolio and is published, even if it's a college newspaper.
Anne
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