Live Band Photo Publishing

[fortiis]

About 18-20 years ago I took a lot of live band photos. They were all punk and hardcore bands at various venues. The photos were originally taken for and published in a photocopied fanzine (magazine) that a friend and I would distribute at shows. I still have all of the negatives and was considering publishing a book of about 100 of the photos. There is a small underground following of many of the bands and I would probably be able to sell a couple hundred of them. Do I need releases to publish the book? I really wouldnt make any money. Just enough to cover the costs and a little for my effort. NONE of the bands are still together and active. I could probably only get a hold of a very small number of members of any of the bands. Even the venues that the photos were taken at don't exist. Most of the venues, weren't legitimate venues (warehouses and such). So, if I took all of the photos, the bands were on private property that no longer exists, and they were performing knowing that many people were taking photographs, can I publish it?

[jk]

were you hired to take these photos or was it simply you taking photo's for yourself?


I presume you never transferred the copyrights of the photos to anybody else, correct?

[fortiis]

No,I was not hired to take the photos. The photos were taken for the fanzine (a photocopied magazine made by fans) my friend and I paid for and distributed. Some of the bands were actually interviewed in the fanzine. Many others, not all, knew of the existence of the photos being in this fanzine.
All of the photos were taken personally by me and I never gave the copyright to anyone.

[Conrad Hunter]

You took the photos, you own the copyrights, You don't need anyone's permission.

Once upon a time I was a magazine publisher and I took photos of the Stones, Patty Smith, Ramones, Clash, Cure, MJ when he was 13, and lots of groups the youngsters probably have never heard of.