Alicia Keys Latest Artist To Enforce No Cell Phone Policy at Concerts (slashgear.com)

Shane McGlaun, reporting for SlashGear:It appears that artists of all sorts are getting very serious about keeping fans from using smartphones while they are at their concerts or events. The latest musician to ban cell phones at her events is Alicia Keys. Fans aren't forced to give up their smartphones at the door to be locked up in some locker or box until the show is over. Rather, fans are handed a special pouch that is locked up with their smartphone inside the fan keeps that pouch with them during the event, but they can't get to the device to call, take photos, or shoot video. If they need to use their device during the show the users can go back to the door and a worker passes a disc about the size of a bagel over the bag to unlock it and the fan can step outside to use their smartphone.

Comments

Coming in 3. . .2. . .1. . .

[Salgak1]

. . . . a Bluetooth Camera/Audio pickup. Unless this "Yondr" bag is a dual-layered Faraday shield. . . .

Re:Liability?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear god,

Please make sure earth has a front row seat for the upcoming solar superstorms.

Thank you!
Sick of the mobile revolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection

Re:As long as it's for the right reason

[Anonymous Coward]

I think dgatwood was suggesting that bouncers should just observe the crowd and confront anyone who appears to be recording the concert.

Exactly.

And to whatever AC's keep saying "just grab a bouncer", ya fucking right, you've obviously never BEEN to a concert, have you? Not too long ago there were a couple guys who got arrested because they were out in the crowd groping girls. The bouncers didn't see it happen, and didn't stop it. The ONLY reason they were ID'd was because other patrons recorded them and had video evidence.

Ya, "just go get a security guard", that's fucking retarded. By the time you get through the crowd, find a guard who cares enough to listen, and make your way back to the location, the 'perp' is long gone. "Back in the Day" before cell phone cameras, it was not uncommon for people to be physically and/or sexually assaulted and nobody was ever caught unless the victim got lucky and spotted the person on the way out.

And what if the problem is a couple of over-zealous guards beating the shit out of someone for no good reason? Who you gonna call then, eh?

Look, I can see how the performers would be concerned about some really shitty, low-quality video with shitty audio being uploaded to youtube. After all, who wouldn't rush out to watch someone's home-made youtube video of a concert, complete with people nearby drowning out hte sound with their screams and yells, instead of buying a ticket? I know I for one would much rather watch the shaky, unfocused video which primarily consists of the floor and someone's head, than a professionally shot video of the performer.

Re:As long as it's for the right reason

[hambone142]

I go to a lot of concerts but I find smart phone users during the show very obnoxious.

We went to see Tom Petty at the Rose Quarter/Moda center in Portland . The folks in front of us were constantly taking selfies *with flash* , googling, doing fucking Facebook and more during the music. It was such a bad experience, we'll never return to that venue.

We've run in to the behavior at other shows but not as bad as this one.

I'm all for bagging cellphones during concerts if people can't learn to behave with them.

Some of the venues I go to (smaller ones) remind idiots when they're being idiots with cellphones.

Re: So no more crappy cell phone videos

[geekmux]

I'd simply refuse to enter and request compensation (full purchase refund, parking expenses). If not, take the ticket merchant or responsible venue coordinatator to court and also request compensation for lost personal time. This type of information should be made clear before the purchase is made.

And it likely WILL be. Common sense dictates you read the fine print if you find yourself and your "rights" being violated here. Don't like it? Don't attend the concert. We won't miss you. Refuse to play by the rules? The door swings both ways. Bye.

I've grown tired of organizations and individuals encroaching on what I consider others' basic rights for their own personal interests. If you're a live performer, cell phones are not hurting your business.

How about you encroaching on my basic right to enjoy a concert without having to see or hear cell phone addicts all trying to capture their version of what should be an evening enjoyed by humans instead of machines? I'd say my basic right during those two hours trumps the shit out of yours. You pay for a ticket and attend a concert for YOU the human to see and hear the artist, not to record a damn documentary of your evening.

Needless to say, I've grown tired of this basic rights bullshit argument, especially when it mainly exists to feed people's narcissistic addictions to social media. And cell phones are not mandated by fire departments and emergency responders, so you can drop the bullshit 911 argument too.

Re:As long as it's for the right reason

[turp182]

Sometimes something really classic or funny is captured, and it's worth it.

For example, last week, during a concert, Justin Beiber fell into into a large hole on stage and disappeared for a few seconds.

I'm glad there was video of that, it was fun to watch a few times.

Re:movie theaters

[nycsubway]

I'd really like to see this at children's plays and recitals. You ever see 100 parents pull out iPads to video their first grader at a school play? It's very hard to see... sometimes its easier to watch the play on the screen of the fool in front of me.

Re:As long as it's for the right reason

[Solandri]

Or banning cell phones because you don't want an amateur video of your concert on youtube.

Here's an idea. Instead of taking the heavy-handed approach of banning cell phones at concerts, simply remove the incentive to create an amateur video of the concert you're attending with your cell phone. Hire a professional camera crew who makes a slick video of the concert. Then give each ticket-holder a unique code which entitles them to download a free copy of this video a few days after the concert.

The fans are happy because they get a nice video to relieve the experience, instead of a crappy cell phone video. The musician is happy because there are no (or fewer) annoying cell phones and flashes going off in the concert. And the production studio is happy because they can use software to detect copies of the concert video uploaded to YouTube, instead of having to hire people to scour YouTube for amateur videos of the concert. Win-win-win.

Re:As long as it's for the right reason

[Known Nutter]

You're part of the problem... hate to say it. Put the fucking phone away. Facebook update... please.