To Record or Not to Record?

We've all been to an event where someone cannot put down their cell phone, camera, or whatever choice recording device they've brought.  If you go on YouTube, there are musicians that have more videos of them that a fan took at a show than official appearances or music videos (copyrighted material).  It's a difficult line for me.  I'm no stranger to snapping pictures at a concert as long as the venue permits it.  However there is a limit. I am not about to keep my camera in the air for the entire concert, snapping away. I take a them, and if I see someone who does costume changes I'll try to get their new attire.  I will admit I was overzealous the second time I saw Marina and the Diamonds, in part because I was a bit drunk.

I never record video.  I personally find it really irritating being stuck behind someone who holds their phone/camera up, obstructing the view for an entire song, or series of songs.  When I saw The Airborne Toxic Event last year, I watched someone get busted for trying to film, and I am not going to lie about being a little happy about it.  Not only were they talking about how they had see the band twenty times, very loudly, before the show even started, but now they are going to attempt and film the entire show?  I don't mind pictures because they are brief compared to a camera or cell phone in the air for an entire song/setlist.

Kind of a sucky thing when you have a good view being blocked by phones, no?

 

It's tough because I personally have enjoyed videos and pictures that people take of concerts.  However, I then wonder if they really experienced the show at all. Lately there have been musicians calling out audience members who cannot put their cameras down (people like Beyoncé). I get that it's awesome to take pictures to serve the memory, especially since concerts go by so quickly that I do not always remember everything. But what is the point of physically being there if you're just going to watch the show behind your camera?  I remember seeing Nick Cave, my favorite, and he was REALLY close to me. Had I tried I would have been able to touch his face because he was so close.  The last thing on my mind would be putting a camera between us.  And I even remember hearing about Rufus Wainwright discussing it. There are loads of videos of him online, and he played a new song at his shows, and I want to think I heard about him expressing to the audience that a lot of them had probably heard it already because it had been uploaded on YouTube. 

 

I think making videos and taking pictures is great because it is a way to get the musician's live show exposure, and more people will want to come if they know the show won't be terrible. If the band isn't well known, videos of their performances can promote them more, simply as "Hey, look at this video I took of a great show I went to" on Facebook.  And if you have friends who like them but could not attend, then they can get a little taste of the show.  However, as an audience member I find it irritating sometimes.  I get taking pictures, but don't just sit there and take a hundred shots of the same pose like a paparazzi.  Try to get some that you think are decent, and carry on.  Enjoy the show. You pay money to see this person live and it's like you're hardly there if you hide behind the camera! Especially if you've got a good view.

 

And I don't personally know, but I'd be curious to know what a musician thinks when they see someone in the front row filming or taking photographs. We are a bit obsessed with documentation in our culture, I get it. I am too sometimes! Apart from, in my opinion, it being more courteous to the performer not to have the phone/camera up the entire show, it will make the people around you less irritated.