Should cameras be allowed at concerts?

One of the signs which the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have used at their concerts.

Many concerts are all the same: the second that the lights go off and the curtain drops, many eager fans get out their digital cameras or smartphones, eager to capture the moment when their favourite band grace the stage. But many people take it too far, spending all of the concert taking shoddy pictures to show off on their Facebook page.

At a recent concert that I attended, three people stood in front of me were taking pictures and filming on their iPads. For the whole concert they were stood there, not moving, apart from to press the ‘capture’ button hundreds of times. It goes without saying that this was ridiculously annoying, not only because it was harder to see the band, but also because it has made me realise what is happening at concerts nowadays. People are more interested in showing off about where they have been than actually enjoying the music and the atmosphere. Is technology taking over our lives?

Artists such as Price, Beyoncé and Björk have all previously banned people from taking photos at concerts, saying that it is ‘distracting’ and that people should enjoy the show through their eyes, not through a screen. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are renowned for not allowing fans to take photos at their shows, but they have received a lot of support from both fans and critics about the bold move. With fans not desperately trying to capture images, they are able to be involved with the concert and forget about technology, for a couple of hours at least. Attempts to stop fans taking photos are not always successful, but many fans will happily comply with the artists’ request.

The alternative view on this is from aspiring photographers. Although professional photographers can often acquire photo-passes for concerts, many photographers aren’t able to or don’t believe that they should have to stand on the other side of the barrier to take photos. Many aspiring photographers discover their passion for music and concert photography by taking photos on their digital cameras during a concert, and then eventually move on to purchasing an SLR and taking it more seriously. By banning taking photos at all gigs, many people may not discover their talent or find the inspiration to attempt concert photography. Also, many fans enjoy just taking a few photos as a memory of the time that they saw a specific band and treat them as souvenirs from a memorable night.

They key point here is moderation: fans should be able to take photographs at concerts, but only a few and not for the whole concert. Maybe employing the three song rule that professional photographers get would be a good idea, as that way people would be able to take photos but they would not worry about taking them for the whole evening. It would be hard to enforce, but some people need to realise that concerts are for having fun, not for standing with your camera in the air for hours.