Once upon a time LONG LONG ago we did have a breif discussion of this on the forum. I argued in favor of allowing pics. A few argued against. I have since changed my stance and agree they shouldnt be allowed MOST of the time. Heres why...
1. as stated there is a safety concern. its dark and the performers eyes suddenly see a flash and their eyes may need to adjust. But somehow many performers deal with that though. but there are other reasons.
2. modern cameras can often record movies as well as sound now. its not like the old days where a camera produced just a still photo. audio and movies have ALWAYS been banned.
3. even if they would allow movies and audio recordings, theres another problem. A few years ago I went to see a Mediaeval Baebes concert. I looked up some of their stuff on YouTube and a number of people had recorded performences and posted. The BIG problem was you had ametures using cheap equipment and recording from bad angles, saometimes in bad light. The sound sounded very bad, and the images weren't good either. They didnt look good at all. That counters an argument that one can use, that such things 'advertise' performers and encourage others to buy tickets or buy products. That only works if the recordings are impressive.
4. another thing about that Mediaeval Baebes concert I went to. I e-mailed the venue asking a bunch of questions, I had never been there before. They were nice and answered all of them except one ... are cameras allowed? To me it seems many venues don't want to tell people its ok, as some performers DONT want it, yet they dont want to tell people NO if performers do allow it. So they either dont answer or just give a default NO to avoid any problem.
now as far as meet & greets I argued pics should be allowed. we pay a bit of money to attend those things. the performers are after all in show business and mixing with fans doing a PR thing is part of the job. Plus the ladies of CW always look good. Isnt it sort of a waste if you don't capitalize on that? If you looked like me, and you were a performer, then YES, BAN photos. But when you look great and it is, in a sense, a way to promote the group, then do it!
but lets go back to taking pics at the actual concerts. what if they scheduled a few shows a year as "PIC" days, where, during certain songs, fans would be allowed to take pics. It would be very limited. You wouldnt want Mairead blinded by a flash as she spinned. But some songs arent very , how to say, active? They just stand, or wiggle their armns, etc. And they would know in advance what songs to expect the flash and be prepared. They could even sell 'passes' for it, like paying extra for a m&g only you pay extra to take photos. I KNOW some people who would do it. plus in some cities they dont draw as many people. If they were to advertise a show as a "pic" show that might boost ticket sales. Just an idea here!
