# Oasis Live 25 Controversy for Concert Photographers

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Oasis Live 25. How the biggest reunion in British music kept the photographers it didn't need, and what it told the rest of us about where live music photography is heading. Updated June 2026 with what actually happened across the tour. When Oasis announced their first show in sixteen years, fans rejoiced. For music photographers, the comeback turned sour fast. At the reunion opener in Cardiff on 4 July 2025, Oasis's management imposed photography restrictions that went well beyond the usual etiquette, in what has become a growing trend with the power to hit photographers' rights and their income at the same time. Selected agencies only were allowed to shoot the first concert in each city of the 41-date tour. Personally, I'd been hounding Liam's PR for months... I was 99.9% confirmed, and then in a crappy twist, I received an email telling me that Noel's management also needed to authorise accreditation and they wouldn't allow me to shoot as they were over subscribed... I was gutted. I'd worked incredibly hard to secure a spot, months of positive talk with a fabulous PR who I won't name and then the rug was pulled from under me.. I think in my whole 14 year career of shooting music, this was the most upsetting experience I'd ever had to contend with in my role as a professional Music Photographer. As it panned out for those few lucky ones who manage to make it into the stadium at Cardiff, long lenses were mandatory, with shooters set up on a platform 34 metres back from the stage. For anyone outside the trade, that distance matters. Historically the area between the stage and the crowd barrier, the pit, is where credentialed photographers work, roaming for the time-honoured "three songs, no flash". Cardiff put the pros at the back of the stadium instead. Then came the part that caused the row. News outlets and agencies were told they could use images from the first night for one year only, after which all rights would revert to the band. A one-year shelf life on news photography That expiry date on editorial images is highly unusual, and it sparked a fight between the Oasis camp and the press. As The Guardian reported, an industry coalition representing major newspapers and wire agencies lodged a formal complaint, arguing the limits broke with decades of standard practice. Normally, photographers and outlets agree usage rights in perpetuity. A magazine can run a great Oasis shot today and again in a retrospective in ten years. The one-year clause upends that. Andrew Moger of the News Media Coalition put it plainly when he urged the organisers to drop the restriction, arguing that news photography helps tell the cultural story of an artist and that role does not end after 365 days. For professional music photographers, most of them freelancers, rules like these are not a minor annoyance. They threaten a living. Capturing an iconic live moment is only half the job. Being able to license and resell that image later is how you actually earn from it. If the photo self-destructs after a year, a huge chunk of its value vanishes. Publications pay modest fees up front on the understanding that the photographer can recoup more through syndication over time. The Oasis terms cut off any future income from those Cardiff pictures, however historic they turn out to be. What I see from the pit I am Lee Blanchflower, founder of More Than Just Music, the concert and music arm of Blanc Creative, a Norwich based photography and film company. I have been shooting music, concerts and festivals for over ten years. I will be straight with you. I am not claiming my portfolio sits alongside the giants I admire, and being based in Norwich is its own challenge, because getting to the major shows means travelling to London, Manchester or Sheffield, and being based in one of those cities makes a real difference. But 2025 was hands down the toughest year I have known for photography access. Even working with Splash News by Shutterstock, a global agency with serious reach, the knockbacks were constant. Worse is the

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