Stock image producers often have two misconceptions about
subscription licensing services: They believe subscription licensing is
simple and that for a very low monthly fee customers are allowed to use
any image for any purpose. Neither is true.
Universal Images Group,
the distribution business unit of the Virtual Picture Desk, has been
awarded a contract by the Encyclopaedia Britannica to provide an
extensive online library of low-resolution (150 dpi) images suitable
for educational use. The images will be supplied by numerous producers around the world and, together with Britannica's wholly owned content, will become part of a new subscription service, Britannica Image
Explorer.
I receive regular requests from photographers who want to know how they
can license rights to the images they have created over the years on
film. Here’s what I tell them. Licensing rights to images is very
difficult in today’s market because there is such an oversupply
available compared to the demand.
Don’t tell Cathy Yeulet that you can’t make money in microstock. She operates
Monkey Business Images,
one of the most successful microstock production companies. However,
unlike many microstockers, she is not new to stock photography. For
many years, Yeulet operated a successful rights-managed business in
Oxfordshire, U.K. When traditional royalty-free first began to take
off, she created the BananaStock brand, which she sold to Jupiterimages
in 2005 for approximately $19 million in cash.
She started uploading images to iStockphoto in March of 2008.
Here’s the best chance you’ll ever have to win 100 Euros (or the equivalent in dollars). You can also respond to a photographer survey or have fun testing your knowledge of photography business trends. Check it out. It will only take a couple minutes.
U.S. educational publishers are admitting to more and more unauthorized
uses during the past decade and quietly entering into out-of-court
settlements with an increasing number of image suppliers for large
numbers of uses. In cases where the original license fee was well under
$1,000, publishers are now paying multiple thousands of dollars to
settle claims.
What do you know about the stock photo industry and its future
potential? Here are 20 questions to test your knowledge of facts
related to photo licensing. The answers are at the bottom of the story.
This story provides a list of useful articles that will provide the reader with a good background on the current state of the stock photography business and where it is headed.
If you are in the stock imagery business and want to stay current with
worldwide industry trends, the annual CEPIC congress is a must-attend
event. Held every year in early June—this year in Dublin, Ireland, at
the brand new Aviva Stadium—the congress provides an opportunity to
meet industry leaders and exchange ideas.
The traditional market for single images is under intense pressure. However, the demand for imagery that hangs together as a story is increasing in both editorial and commercial arenas.