On Sunday, UK-based photographer Jason Sheldon penned an open response to Taylor Swift’s rant against Apple on compensating artists fairly.
The response labeled her as a hypocrite and alleged that her team’s aggressive contracts, which takes photo rights away from photographers who take her picture, makes her no different than Apple. Sheldon also provided a copy of one of the contracts.
However, it appears that Sheldon’s contract is a little outdated. On Sunday, fellow UK freelance photographer Joel Goodman tweeted a copy of an updated, even more restrictive contract.
This contract was handed out to photographers for Taylor Swifts latest 1989 World Tour.
The new version appears just as onerous and also includes a clause that allows Swift’s team to destroy a photographer’s camera equipment on the spot if they don’t abide by the rules.
“If you fail to fully comply with this Authorization, authorized agents of FEI, the Artist or the Related Entities may confiscate and/or destroy the technology or devices that contain the master files of the Photographs and other images, including, but not limited to, cell phones and memory cards, and the Photographs and any other images.”
Goodman told Peta Pixel:
“It has been passed to me by two other photographers whom I know, independently of one another, on condition that they remain anonymous. Some photographers fear losing income if they get blacklisted for speaking out against these kind of contracts.”
“This contract is particularly egregious in that it not only contains an all out rights grab on the photographers’ work, whilst limiting their editorial control and ability to earn from that work — and does so without compensation — but because it does so under threat of criminal damage or destruction of property.”
