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Articles from December 2008
Getty Images has begun to invite Flickr users to participate in the Getty-managed Flickr Collection, but details of the deal and its eventual impact on the industry remain unclear.
In addition to producing images that continue to win the most prestigious photojournalism awards, young collective Noor is continuing to mentor aspiring photographers. Several free and paid workshops are scheduled for 2009 in different parts of the world.
Market research firm Mintel says next year will be that of comfort foods, cocktails and "fresh" labeling.
Following November's exclusive deal with Photolibrary for U.K. representation, London-based Medicimage has announced distribution partnerships with 23 other agencies.
Americans' available leisure time has dropped by 20% since last year, according to The Harris Poll, which has been tracking such data since 1973. How people spend their time is also changing, predictably influenced by the worsening economic situation.
CEPIC has issued a response to the European Union's proposal for copyright reform, stating that copyright owners' views are not represented among other stakeholders. In the U.K., which just announced its intent to follow EU's lead, BAPLA has vowed to ensure that its membership's concerns make it onto the agenda.
A French court has ordered Getty Images and the Advertising Educational Foundation to pay over $1.29 million to photographer Alain Ernoult for unauthorized marketing of his images.
a21 has announced that the bankruptcy court of Jacksonville, Fla., has set the dates for bid submissions and asset auction.
The Annenberg Foundation has made a $75,000 grant to host the 2009 Pictures of the Year International, a photojournalism competition now in its 66th year.
Corbis has invited professionals and students to enter the competition for its Creativity for Social Justice Award and Scholarship, which is part of the annual Art Director's Club honors. The cash prizes awarded for the past two years have been cut in half in both categories.
The question for stock photographers is how to maximize revenue. Is RM better then RF? Is traditional RF better then Microstock and what about Subscriptions? This article provides some thinking on this subject.
Two major newspapers are about to drastically reduce circulation. Such trends are strong indicators of what many believe will happen with magazines and other information suppliers in the not too distant future.
Contrary to its previous prediction of a 5.5% decline in U.S. ad revenues, Barclays Capital now expects advertising to dip significantly below the levels of the 1991 and 2001 recessions.
Several stock photographers have shared their strategies to cope with the rapidly changed business environment. Cost cutting and diversifying top the list.
iStockphoto has announced its plans for next year, including new image pricing. While previous adjustments largely raised the cost of the credits while keeping the entire collection at the same price point, the 2009 strategy is markedly different and includes a higher priced collection of exclusive images.
In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow.
According to PicApp, blogger appetite for all things celebrity continues growing, and premium paparazzi content from Pacific Coast News answers this need.
Cambridge-based technology company Imense has launched Picturedesk, a stock-image search engine that provides access to 30 stock brands. In addition to metadata, the search engine uses image-recognition technology to improve relevance of search results.
One stock-photography mystery is why advertisers have calculated that an eyeball looking at a Web site is only worth about one-tenth to one-fifteenth of an eyeball looking at a printed publication. This is important because fees paid to content creators are based to a large extent on what advertisers are willing to pay for ads.
The grim outcome of Greenberg vs. The National Geographic Society should be of deep concern to every photographer who believes copyright offers legal protection. Rather, this case teaches us two things: the law is not always fair or equitable, and those who have deeper pockets tend to win.
Alamy's growth slowed in the third quarter of 2008, with gross sales of $8,186,000, up 9% compared to the same quarter in 2007 but down about 4% from the second-quarter high of $8,520,000. The company said the effects of the Sterling weakening against the Dollar exaggerated the decline.
Slik offers images of modern and historical China.
Big Stage Entertainment and Splash News are collaborating to allow consumers to insert their faces into photos featuring Hollywood stars.
Live for only a couple of days and yet to be officially announced, the new interface of the Canadian agency represents a paradigm shift—if not a giant leap—in stock-image search.
An 11-year saga of Greenberg v. National Geographic Society has concluded with the Supreme Court refusing to hear photographer Jerry Greenberg's latest appeal. The two rulings that now set the legal precedent for reproducing copyrighted freelancer content will be the July 2008 decision of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and an earlier Supreme Court decision in Tasini v. The New York Times.
Getty Images has added exclusive images by Patrick Hoelck, Kurt Iswarienko, Tyler Shields and Yu Tsai to its celebrity portraiture brand Contour. The company also announced the acquisition of Britain's Redferns music picture library, further expanding its celebrity and entertainment offering.
Jupitermedia announced that the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have granted early termination of the review period for the proposed sale of Jupiterimages to Getty Images. Jupitermedia also filed a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing the details of negotiations that went back to late 2006.
Iceland agency continues acquisition spree.
Two leading Madison Avenue forecasters further downgrade U.S. advertising forecasts for 2009, though there is some disagreement on the degree of expected erosion.
According to Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, lines between blogs and mainstream media Web sites are becoming less and less clear. As the Blogosphere grows in size and influence, larger blogs increasingly take on traditional-media attributes, while mainsteam sites incorporate blog styles and formats. Professional and user-generated media types are also merging in more literal ways: practically all (95%) of the top U.S. newspapers have reporter blogs.
According to Corbis' December Creative IQ Trends report, singlehood is rising in prevalence worldwide. The trend is resulting in an increase of imagery depicting singles, dating and same-gender groups.
Many view iStockphoto as the microstock industry leader. However, online forum threads about the company's November sales and the future for non-exclusive microstockers offer a very different perspective. It appears that, in its pursuit of exclusive contributors, iStock is becoming a less important income source for many microstock shooters—not only those just starting out, but also those earning a living from microstock.
Adobe announced that it is cutting 600 full-time jobs as a result of weaker-than-expected sales of Creative Suite 4. The company also reported preliminary fourth-quarter revenues, which did not meet expectations.
The Virtual Picture Desk, founded in 2000 by former Getty Images vice president and Corbis director George Sinclair, has expanded its roster of clients with several exclusive agreements.
The first thing a photographer must consider when pondering microstock exclusivity is why any distributor needs exclusive representation of a royalty-free image—which, but its very nature, is a non-exclusive product.
a21 and its subsidiaries SuperStock and ArtSelect have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company has also filed separate a motion to sell the U.S. assets of SuperStock to Masterfile Corp. for $1.5 million, though this agreement is subject to better offers at a forthcoming auction.
Liisa Kaakinen, Amana's metadata, keywording and thesauri expert, leads a one-day training course from London-based digital-imaging and picture-archiving consultancy Electric Lane.
Technology startup Imprezzeo has launched a beta version of its new image-to-image search. While it may not be the first to market, Imprezzeo says its proprietary search software is more sophisticated than currently available similar products.
A new video depicting several Corbis executives is now available on YouTube.
Dreamstime has partnered with Panama-based Other Images, a stock distributor that covers Central and South America and the Caribbean. Other Images has created a new branded Web site, which is dedicated exclusively to Dreamstime content and is searchable in Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world, and Portugese.
The Alamy contributor event, held on Nov. 7, included a report by CEO James West on the company's plans for 2009 and a question-and-answer session that lasted more than two hours.
The already struggling Associated Press is about to face another obstacle: a soon-to-launch daily wire service from CNN, which promises to deliver the same product cheaper.
George Sinclair has launched a new business: Universal Images Group Ltd. The company's primary focus will be to assist clients of Sinclair's other business, The Virtual Picture Desk, in marketing their editorial imagery through third-party channels.
SuperStock contributors report that no one has received royalty checks for the month of November and that sales reports have been late the last couple months. a21 Group's stock brand has not reported third quarter sales, and there are indications that other developments are afoot.
ITN Source now represents the content of Asian News International in an exclusive, all-content, all-platform deal.
Online image uses appear to be following the pattern established in traditional media. A recent Epsilon survey demonstrates that clients responsible for the highest traditional revenues---big corporations with million- and billion-dollar marketing budgets---prefer more proven, though often more costly social-media tools, such as email.
Stock photographers are constantly concerned with what to shoot. Everyone knows that people pictures tend to sell in greater volume than non-people pictures, but people doing what? Which concepts are in greatest demand? Information most helpful to answering such questions comes from microstock sites and is freely available to everyone.
U.S. banks sent almost twice as much direct mail in the third quarter of 2008 than during the second quarter. These 53 million direct-mail offers were also nearly twice the number sent last year--despite the critical state of financial markets.
Rights-managed collection of iconic imagery focuses on the Irish people.