British rock group Oasis — best-known for their hit single Wonderwall — has gotten into an unusual spat with a group of photo agencies over licensing rights.
According to a report in The Guardian, Oasis are attempting to restrict how long photo agencies, online publications, and TV stations have a licence to the images they capture at their reunion tour in the U.K. A departure from the usual deal in which photo agencies hold the rights in perpetuity.
Despite limited success in the US, Oasis is one of Britain’s most loved bands. However, the two brothers who sing vocals and play guitar, Liam and Noel Gallagher, have fallen out in the past meaning it’s the band’s first live concerts for over 15 years and it is expected to be most the UK’s most profitable tour ever — generating over £1 billion ($1.36 billion).
But the band reportedly demanded that picture agencies — including Getty Images, Thomson Reuters, the Associated Press, Shutterstock, AFP, and others — only have the licensing rights to their images for one month after the concert, then the band has the rights.
Negotiations led to that term being changed from one month to one year, but the News Media Coalition — a group that represents large media organizations — says in a statement that it is still not enough.
“News photography has had a significant role in amplifying interest and telling the visual cultural story of artists such as Oasis, it’s part of the legacy,” Andrew Moger, the chief executive of the NMC, tells The Guardian. “And that does not stop after 365 days.”
Oasis played their first gig in Cardiff, Wales, on Friday night and have another 40 music gigs ahead of them, including seven nights at London’s Wembley Stadium. The NMC is hoping to negotiate better terms for future dates.
“Oasis Live 25 will attract editorial coverage throughout the 41-date tour and for years to come,” Moger adds. “We invite the concert organisers to withdraw the ‘shelf-life’ of such newsworthy material and not to diminish the copyright work of photographers who are in their own way artists too.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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