Mea Culpa. Using a search strategy that has worked well in the past, I published grossly incorrect conclusions in my recent article on massive editing at Getty Images. Readers deserve an explanation.
Stock Artists Alliance (SAA) continues to seek "accountability" from Photolibrary in the Index Stock situation and says in a press release, "Recent revelations and accusations leave the SAA Board greatly concerned about whether Photolibrary has met its contractual obligation to pay Index Stock contributors all past obligations."
Corbis' decision to remove huge numbers of images from its collection makes its database easier to navigate. But the company's unwillingness to return digital files to photographers, shows little concern for image creators.
Given recent questions concerning Photolibrary/Indexstock bookkeeping issues, it's worth exploring some problems that can arise when a agency like Indexstock keeps sloppy books.
Getty is not the only company engaging in massive editing of its file. Several Corbis photographers have been advised in letters from Ross Sutherland, Corbis Chief Creative Officer, that close to 50% of their images will be removed.
In an attempt to relieve Indexstock (IS) photographer anxieties, Photolibrary Group (PL) has made public details regarding payments of outstanding pre-acquisition royalties and the ongoing reliability of PL's accounting system.
A major dilemma for stock photo portals is finding the right size for their collections. Customers complain about too many irrelevant images. Thus, a small collection would seem to be better. But an irrelevant image to one buyer, may be relevant to another. Cut the collection size, and customers complain they can't find the right image. What's the answer?
For the past three months, Getty Images has been engaged in a massive reduction of the number of images on its site. The good news is that the average-return-per-image for those remaining on the site is likely to go up dramatically. The bad news is that most suppliers are unlikely to see any growth in revenue.
A couple weeks ago I complained that our industry has established ridiculous price multipliers for book use when large circulations are compared to small ones. So I was asked to supply an answer. I did.
Photographers are confused and frustrated by recent happenings at Photolibrary's Index Stock brand. The company's Australian headquarters is doing little to explain or reassure.