iStockphoto, which is the third-largest generator of stock-image revenues in the world, has announced plans for a subscription offering. iStock says it is diversifying in response to customer demand.
Since the beginning of 2008, U.K. royalty-free producer Image Source has been phasing in a new pricing structure, along with several other changes in how it markets stock. According to company co-CEO Duncan Grossart, these changes support Image Source's core goal of remaining at the highest end of the stock-image market.
A new orphan works bill, which covers images without photo credits, is being drafted for consideration in the 2008 U.S. legislative session. Representatives of ASMP, digital content-monitoring company PicScout and others who stand to be affected by the new legislation testified at the first orphan-works hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property in March.
When Barnardo's, an Essex children's charity established in 1867, decided to digitize its historical image archive, it turned to Kent-based editorial image distributor TopFoto. Every child that entered the charity was photographed, and Barnardo's archive now consists of some 500,000 images.
According to the transaction statement filed by Getty Images with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last Thursday, negotiations are still ongoing with a potential buyer other than Hellman & Friedman. The document also discloses, for the first time, the revenues of Getty-owned microstock business iStockphoto and other business segments.
Montreal-based photostockplus.com offers photographers a turn-key online platform with two products: a stock-licensing operation, and a package geared toward events such as weddings.