Getty Images has been granted a temporary restraining order against it former VP of Global Entertainment, Roxanne Motamedi. Motamedi held the post at Getty from June 2009 to November 2016 and was based in Los Angeles.
It is believed that during her tenure Motamedi was instrumental in bringing a lot of assignment business to Getty. Brands pay Getty a fee to send a photographer to cover certain news events and also make sure that the brand’s products are conspicuous in the photos. The resulting images are then distributed as news. Thus, Getty gets paid to cover the event, gets paid to make sure the brands are in the photos, and gets paid when a photo is published. Three separate fees for one event.
Much of this assignment business comes down to personal relationships. Sources tell Selling-Stock that Motamedi is a great schmoozer and no doubt has a number of clients who would be loyal to her rather than to Getty.
Evidently, Getty is concerned with her taking its lucrative assignment business elsewhere. Getty makes a lot of money from assignments to cover events for event planners, and sponsors of events.
It is unclear whether Motamedi resigned, or was replaced, but her departure did come at a time when there were cut backs and lay offs in Getty’s editorial division.
A copy of the restraining order was also delivered to “Evans-Lombe, Murrell, Silverhub and its employees, including but not limited to, its IT personnel, and to request that they protect and preserve all emails and other files sent by her or sent to her.”
It appears that Getty believes that Motamedi has either joined, or is about to join,
Silverhub Media headquartered in the UK. Given Silverhub’s exclusive
deal with Shutterstock signed in November, it seems Shutterstock might now be in a position to capture a lot of revenue from event planners and brands that formerly went to Getty.
With the prices publishers are willing to pay to use images dropping, the coverage of events for brands seems a stable growth area for the entertainment business and entertainment photographers.
For more information about the temporary restraining order check out this
link.