Planning on seeing the Rolling Stones this year? How about Tool, Dave Matthews. or even David Lee Roth? Great, enjoy yourself, just remember when you purchase your tickets you can't email or blog about the show afterward.

I am serious.

No really, I am serious.

You agreed to a contract.

If you look at your ticket you will see that they are all Ticketmaster shows and if you go to Ticketmaster's web site you will see this nifty little clause in their purchase terms contract.

Recording, Transmission and Exhibition
You agree not to record or transmit, or aid in recording or transmitting, any description, account, picture, or reproduction of the event.

So according to the contract you can't transmit any description or account of a Ticketmaster event, you're basically surrendering your right to converse with others about what you saw. Not just photos or audio, words too!

The next line is even more interesting.

You grant permission to utilize your image, likeness, actions and statements in any live or recorded audio, video, or photographic display or other transmission, exhibition, publication or reproduction made of, or at, the event (regardless of whether before, during or after play or performance) in any medium or context without further authorization or compensation.

They, on the other hand, can talk about you, record your image, and display it in anything that they want with nary your say so, no matter how embarrassing or unflattering the portrayal.

So, is Ticketmaster going to come after you if you blog about your Stones concert experience on, say, MySpace? I don't know, but they certainly have set the stage to do so if they want. Certainly if you record the show with your cell phone and post it to YouTube you're probably going to hear from somebody's lawyers, but with the huge number of cell phones that record audio and video, as well as still photos, it is impossible to police everyone.

The music industry already came after the file sharers, are the bloggers next? If you see the Stones this year, great, just don't email me about it. I don't want any part of your illicit description sharing.

To see more of Ticketmaster's policies and terms go to http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/purchase.html

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