you may well flame my ass on this but what is the big deal about Prince and pretty much every other major artist requesting no photos / videos of the performance. If they lose out on the the handful of additional marketing that's the artists loss.
Aside from the fact that a 1000 flash's going off in your eyes must be as annoying as hell the performer will have their reasons. Just leave the damn video phone, digi cams etc in your bag and enjoy the show!. I took mine to the first show and after show and it just got i the way and i felt bad.

funkyhead said:

Although it is useful...soembody on her epublished a photof pretty much from the seat I am in a few weeks from now....teh view wasnt as bad as some people said so I can decide whether to bust a gut trying to get another or just lump it

purpledoveuk said:

what's weird is that I keep cropping up in some of the photos!

funkyhead said:

i got some cool pic of prince with a funny face
looks cool.
i was at a peter gabriel concert to and the fans can post there pic on his site
and you can buy the album of your concert on line.peter gabriel is more down to eearth i gues.
[Edited 8/14/07 11:35am]
[Edited 8/14/07 11:38am]

I was in London and witnessed first hand the mass photography that is taking place at both the main show and the aftershow. It is so massive in fact that there really isn't anything that staff or security can do to shut it down completely.

While in London, it was extremely obvious to me how much technology has become engrained in our daily lifes. People aren't simply out having experiences, they are actively archiving and sharing them. This isn't a Prince phenomenon, this is a lifestyle phenomenon. We live in the age of personal blogs, Flickr, Youtube and networked computers that fit in your pocket.

So no, it is not that big a deal to respect Prince's wish to not photograph.
It is, however, simply too much to ask.

Artists that understand the times they live in can use technology and the lifestyle of their audience to their advantage. They can enhance the overall experience, while still maintaining some sort of control on what is published.
For example, could Prince perhaps release 1 single pic of him performing in London? Why hasn't that happened.
As someone who has been progressive about distributing music in this new age, I think Prince is way off the mark on this one. He's obviously not understanding the way we live now.
[Edited 8/14/07 12:42pm]

funkyhead said:

Prince must understand that the fams want a momento of a great concert. Why oh why doesnt he do a short 1min photo call at the end so all fans can take a snap shot to remember him by. This would stop the whole issue of no pics. I think its more a merchandising thing?

Personally I don't see the need to take pictures at a concert at all. Can you not just watch, listen, and remember how it was for you? Are people suddenly incapable of this? So many times I've been to concerts and had somebody next to me who has spent the whole time fiddling with a phone or a camera, not watching the show apart from on its tiny screen, not clapping or singing or dancing. Why do they go? I really fail to see why people want to take pictures at concerts. Unless you have a fantastic camera your shots will be fuzzy, blurred, indistinct and distant. It really isn't worth even trying. Just watch the show like we all did before we became obsessed with cameraphones!

No harm in asking of course... but personally I don't think it is realistic to to expect people not to take photos. These days lots of people have camera-phones, and with digital photography we're all so used to just snapping whatever we want, when we want. Seeing Prince perform live on stage is a big deal and it doesn't happen that often. So I'm not surprised people want to take a snap or two as a souveneir.

Also I must say, some of the pics taken by fans so far have been really useful for checking out seating in the arena. Also it's just plain exciting for the many Orgers around the world who wish they were at the concerts in London.

Personally I won't be taking photos - partially because we've been asked not to, but mainly because I'm a rubbish photographer anyway and everything I shoot even with my fancy new mobile phone is a big blurry mess.