Early in 2011, there was a brouhaha after newspaper photographer Jay Westcott complained about Lady Gaga’s photo release form given to photographers attending her concerts. PDN characterized the story as a “fame monster gobbling up photographers’ copyrights“. What you see above is a copy of the actual release form given at concerts. Apparently contracts like this one are pretty standard these days.
(via Reddit)
Television network TBD recently sent photographer Jay Westcott to cover a Lady Gaga concert in Washington D.C. Upon arriving at the Verizon Center, Westcott was given a release form, on which the fourth paragraph read,
Photographer hereby acknowledges and agrees that all right, title and interest (including copyright) in and to the Photograph(s) shall be owned by Lady Gaga and Photographer hereby transfers and assigns any such rights to Lady Gaga.
After making a call to his editor, Westcott was told to not sign the release and to not shoot the concert.
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Looks like the blogosphere was right in December of last year when it guessed that a teaser put out by Polaroid was for a new instant camera launch at CES 2011. The company — along with Creative Director Lady Gaga — officially unveiled the camera today in Las Vegas, and also showed off a new printer and a bizarre pair of glasses as well.
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Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 7S landed a pretty prominent spot in hip hop artist B.o.B’s music video for “Airplanes,” featuring Hayley Williams. It seems like instant photo marketing is especially seeking exposure through music videos — Lady Gaga’s “Telephones” also contains a hefty 10-second spot for Polaroid’s instant camera.
Lady Gaga’s most recent music video for “Telephone”, featuring Beyonce, is like most modern music videos: rife with product placement. But among the most prominent products was Gaga’s own employer, Polaroid, which gets a 10-second spot.
You may recall the buzz during CES 2010 when Polaroid announced the music artist was hired as their creative director for a specialty line.
It’s good to know that some people are getting jobs these days.
Fashion label LeSportsac will be joining with Canon in its release of a case designed exclusively for the PowerShot camera, the companies announced today.
No big surprise here; the fashion industry has always worked hand-in-hand with the photography industry. Photography has always played an integral part in marketing fashion.
However, the tables are turning, and designer names are now a major marketing point for photo gear.
Consumer-level cameras are abundant. Every major manufacturer has several new models of point-and-shoots each year, a testament to the power of the consumer in the imaging industry. However, in a market flooded with similar products, manufacturers scramble to distinguish themselves from the next big company.
Late last year, Lady Gaga contributed some star power to Polaroid as she joined the company as a creative director. Polaroid’s most recently garnered a prominent feature in Gaga’s latest music video, Telephone, featuring Beyonce. Celebrity spokespersons such as Ashton Kutcher for Nikon are also a recent marketing trend in drawing public interest in photo products.
Last month at PMA, GE announced a new point-and-shoot collaboration with fashion designer Jason Wu called Create by Jason Wu, whose line includes colorful cameras and stylish carrying cases. The cameras will be released this April, but GE’s running a contest this month for autographed editions of the product.
Any thoughts on this trend? Would a designer name interest you next time you shop for a camera?
Here’s a brief interview with Lady Gaga by MSNBC. Aside from her distracting hat, she makes an interesting point about how Polaroid’s traditional medium, the instant camera, is “tangible,” and how the company is struggling to find a place for itself in a digital world. Strange as it may be, she might be key (though maybe in name) to bringing Polaroid back.
