June 18, 2007
Freerange Stock To Share Ad Revenues With Photographers
Freerange Stock, a free stock photography Web site that generates revenue through Google Adsense ads, launched a revenue-sharing program for contributing photographers. Photographers can now earn 80% of the ad revenue generated by their images.
Formed in 2005 to offer free stock images for commercial and non-commercial use, the Tucson, Arizona-based Freerange Stock operates on the principle that good images should be seen and available to everyone. Freerange screens contributions and does not automatically accept all submissions, though founder Chance Agrella admits the editing process is more flexible than traditional stock agencies.
Contributing photographers can sign up for a Google Adsense account through Freerange Stock or tie an existing Google Adsense account to the Freerange Stock system to participate in revenue sharing. When users click on ads that appear alongside a photographer's image, the image creator earns 80% of the revenue generated by that click, and Freerange Stock keeps 20%. Freerange Stock also accepts Google's pay-for-space CPM advertising. Contributing photographers are paid directly by Google based on its standard policy.
The revenue-sharing program offers photographers a chance to earn income from images that have underperformed in the traditional or micro-payment stock environments, or images that have been rejected by other agencies. Agrella contends that microstock agency payouts are declining: "Depending on the quality of the submissions, revenue from giving images away could exceed revenue from selling them."
PDN Releases Stock Guide 2007
By: Julia Dudnik Stern
The newly released Photo Source Stock Guide 2007 covers the latest trends in the stock image industry. Feature articles discuss the growth of microstock and the relationship between the target audience and model casting. Additional information includes quotes from stock experts on the state of the industry, mini-reviews and comprehensive contact listings for stock agencies worldwide.
New Bill May Pose Problems for Stock Providers
By: Julia Dudnik Stern
A New York State bill, currently in committee in both the Senate and Assembly, aims to protect the estates of deceased celebrities from having their likenesses used for commercial purposes. Because the bill's language is retroactive, it covers anyone who died since 1938. Such language may pose significant problems for stock photographers and agencies, whose image use has thus far complied with existing legislation. The American Society of Media Photographers has issued an alert asking its members to oppose the bill.