Previously open only to members of the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies, the Picture Buyers' Fair is welcoming all image suppliers as exhibitors. The seventh annual PBF is scheduled for May 7 and 8.
Referring to the Apple-championed move away from digital rights-management technologies, image-licensing startup GumGum says it wants to be the iTunes of content, making the licensing process so easy it eliminates the need for content piracy.
While there is still a large gap between traditional royalty-free and microstock, image pricing and contributor commissions are rising at leading microstock Web sites. Even with recessionary woes, there are no signs of a slowdown in the micro segment.
Image-monitoring company PicScout estimates that 90% of stock images are published without appropriate licensing or payment to their owners. Despite the proliferation of laws that criminalize image piracy, it remains a global problem.
As Jonathan Klein promised when Getty Images acquired Pump Audio, the company's music collection is expanding beyond the independent artists that were the sole focus of Hudson Valley's alternative-music business. In a first major representation agreement, Getty has partnered with top indie film studio Lionsgate.
New York-based digital art site Zymmetrical has added a new search option. It allows users to find images with a designated area of blank or clutter-free space for adding text, logos and other layout elements. Founder and CEO Keith Tuomi said tthis Freerange feature, in combination with tools like Zymmetrical's color picker, helps buyers who know what they want find it faster.