Selling Stock recently analyzed some iStockcharts data in an effort to assess iStockphoto’s revenues during the first two months of 2009 and predict the possible effects of recession on microstock. Though the original analysis suggested a decline in iStock sales, new information about iStockcharts makes this a questionable conclusion.
Thriving New York photographer, prolific stock shooter and Stock Artists Alliance president Shannon Fagan attended the first User Generated Content Conference and Expo in San Jose earlier this month. Fagan provided
Selling Stock with some of his key take-aways, offered here with additional commentary.
Buyer-respondents to PhotoShelter's recent survey say microstock use might decrease, but in reality, the answer depends on the type of buyers you ask.
Recently, several stock agencies have found it necessary to discontinue operations. When that happens, photographer royalties often go unpaid. What went wrong for these firms and their photographers?
Many may find the total number of images available worldwide for rights-managed and royalty-free licensing surprising.
Sources at Getty Images report that the company had double-digit (10% or more) growth in stock-footage revenue in 2008. This is particularly significant because footage sales in 2007 were slightly down from 2006.
In November 2003 I began tracking Getty Images return-per-image by dividing the total number of RM and RF images into the total revenue generated in the previous four quarters. In the last four years Getty’s gross revenue from still image licensing has grown about 50%, but as the charts below show, not nearly as fast as the number of images added to the collection. As a result image suppliers have found that they have to produce more and more images each year just to stay even.
With the approach of the February 20th Jupitermedia stockholder vote on the sale of Jupiterimages to Getty Images, tensions are rising among employees and image suppliers.
Photographers frequently ask how royalty-free still photography got started and why creators only receive 20% of royalty free sales. Here is a little history.