At Visa pour l'Image in France earlier this month Olivier Laurent of the British Journal of Photography interviewed Jonathan Klein, CEO and co-founder of Getty Images. Among the issues discussed were falling prices, the future of the industry, the need for new economic models and the role of smartphones in a market in flux. The entire article can be found
here.
Klein said “I'm often told by critics that we're not customer-focused enough, and it's true. Every decision that we make, the first question that we ask ourselves is not: ‘Is this good for the customer?’ It should be the first question. Instead, it's: ‘How will our contributors and partners react? Does it make sense for them? Is it the right thing to do in the long-term?’"
Klein did not mention two other stakeholders that influence every decision – Getty’s investors and the debt holders that are owed $2.6 billion. Balancing the interests of these four groups – particularly in the short them -- can be very difficult. Unfortunately, what is best for the customers is often not in the best interests for any of the other stakeholders.
New Revenue Model
Klein also pointed out that while the current revenue model where the customer pays a fixed fee to use an image will continue to be a big part of our industry we also need a new revenues model. In three to five years we’ll be saying, "Here's our imagery. If you generate revenues on it, around it, relating to it, we want a piece of it," he pointed out. Getty is building the technology to generate revenue in this manner and is actively pursuing revenue in the social media environment.