Self-employed, freelance photographers are being hit especially hard by the covid 19 pandemic. Most normally work from one short-term job to the next. They tend to be paid by the job, or the project, not a salary. Often these jobs last only a day, or less in terms of hours spent. When everyone is sheltering in place and much of the country closed down it is impossible for many photographers to find any work at all. The CARES and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) programs have focused on helping salaried employees, not those who are self-employed.
On May 21, 2020, the United States Copyright Office published its long awaited 512 (c) report and issued recommendations. The Copyright Office’s report looks at Congress’ intent in enacting the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which offered service providers safe harbors to provide incentives for internet platforms and copyright owners to cooperate in order to detect and deal with copyright infringements in the online environment. The Report looks at that balance in light of the changes in the internet in the past 20-plus years and concludes that the current operation of the section 512 safe harbor system is unbalanced, with copyright owners bearing too much of the burden to deter piracy<
One thing that has bugged me lately is the host of ads I receive almost daily offering detailed reports of "Global Stock Photography Market Potential Growth" for the next 5 years. I haven’t paid for or read any of these reports, but I am pretty sure they are all scans. I hope no one is throwing their money away on these reports, or worst yet, believing them. The creators of these reports ask unsuspecting interested parties for fees ranging from $3,400 to $3,960 to read their fanciful industry growth predictions.
The Appellate Court of the Second Circuit in New York has decided an important important case for photographers regarding registrations and “Look Back” periods for copyright damages (Sohm v. Scholastic Inc., No. 18-2110, 2020 WL 2375056 (2d Cir. May 12, 2020). The court upheld the validity of the copyright registration procedure utilized by photography licensing agencies like Corbis Corporation, and held that courts may award copyright damages only for the three-year period preceding commencement of the action.
Photographers hoping to earn enough producing images to support themselves need to look for another line of work; one that has a better guarantee of income for time invested. The business of photographing meetings and events is unlikely to ever come back to where it was before Covid 19. As the world works its way out of this crisis, there will be fewer small or large group events and more Zoom meetings that are not conducive to photography. But stock photography isn't the answer either.
I've been on hiatus for about a month. My wife and I have just sold the home where we've lived for 42 years and moved into a condo apartment about one-third the size of our former residence. Making such a move, only about five miles from where we formerly lived, and getting rid of a huge amount of the stuff that we've collected over the years has been a challenge.
On May 26th Shutterstock announced that in an effort to cut costs and increase profits as of June 1, 2020 it would dramatically reduce future royalty rates paid to contributors. The new rates will no longer be based on a contributor’s lifetime earnings. At the beginning of each year all contributors will start with zero downloads/licenses and a 15% royalty rate. Previous sales history will be disregarded when it comes to determining royalty percentage. The number of downloads needed to rise to a higher royalty level are as follows:
The chart below allows you to easily track the last 10-year growth trend of Shutterstock quarter-by-quarter and see the number of images in the collection, number of downloads and the gross quarterly revenue at the end of each quarter. You can also see the average revenue-per-download and revenue-per-image-in-the-collection trends.
Considering the cost of producing stock photos, it is hard to see how an average annual return of $0.49 per-image accepted into a stock photo collection can be enough to cover out-of-pocket costs let alone provide any kind of hourly return for time expended. Hourly return will certainly be far below the U.S. minimum wage.
Shutterstock has reported Q1 2020 revenue
$161.3 million compared to $163.3 million in Q1 2019 and down from $166.4 million the previous quarter. Revenue per download remained flat at
$3.42 per-image compared to Q1 2019 and down from $3.44 the previous quarter.
Footage.net has published the results of the Footage Industry Pandemic Industry Survey, which captures a real-time snapshot of how footage companies are responding to the pandemic-related disruptions that began to take hold worldwide in early March.
Founder John Griffin has announced that he will be closing the microstock site Cutcaster on Saturday April 25, 2020 after nearly 12 years of operations. He gave everyone a few days notice so buyers could make use of any existing funds they have on account and he encouraged contributors with more than $5 on account to request a payout before the closing deadline.
Shutterstock, has announced a three-year extension to its long-standing exclusive distribution deal with the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV. Currently,
this collection contains 40 million news, sports, entertainment and archival photos and they add 20,000 images of current events daily.
Shutterstock, Inc has launched an annual subscription for
Shutterstock Footage. Shutterstock’s collection of 18+ million HD and 4K video clips are now available for license through a range of cost-effective monthly plan options or for less than $9 per clip through an annual plan.
The
Digital Medial Licensing Association has appointed Elaine Vitt as Executive Director. Ms. Vitt brings a unique set of skills to DMLA, with significant experience in journalism, international marketing & communications, non-profit trade association management, event planning and content generation.
VisualSteam’s
“7th Annual Survey of Creative Pros: Stock Image Licensing” is a must read for stock image creators and stock agency managers who want insights into what leading, major stock photo buyers need, where they are going to purchase images and what they are looking for in the way of service. It is well worth the $79.99 price.
Stock photo agencies need to pay more attention to the time limitations of their customers and provide more efficient search options. As image collections get larger and larger searching for the right image becomes harder and harder for the image buyer and requires more and more of that buyer’s time. The problem with the current default search procedures is that customers must look through too many irrelevant images before they find one they can use.
Design Pics Inc., based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada has assumed the interim management of Masterfile during the bankruptcy process. Masterfile first filed to restructure its business in
April 2017 and was unable to make any royalty payments to photographers after
January 2018. According to information supplied to creditors by Harris & Partners, the insolvency trustee, as of March 3, 2020 Masterfile had total assets of $270,000 and total liabilities of
$4,092,654.41. They owe royalty payments for the images they licensed to 530 stock agencies and independent photo creators.
It turns out that the link I provided for Alamy’s list of photo needs only works for me. Readers have found that when they click on the link it simply tries to open their Google Mail page in a browser.
So here’s the list.
Most of the country, and the world, is now “sheltering in place” and doing everything possible to minimize contact with others. Under these conditions freelance photographers will find it very difficult to produce new, marketable images. The following are some ideas for ways to t productively occupy your time and better prepare to generate revenue when life gets back to normal.
The
good news is that under the new Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act virtually all self-employed freelance photographers should be able to qualify to receive
$600 in federally funded COVID-19 pandemic benefits for up to 13 weeks. In addition, some may also qualify for up to 26 weeks of regular state unemployment.
This program extends coverage to those who ordinarily would not qualify for state unemployment, including the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers.
House of Pictures, the picture agency for premium interiors, has been part of Image Professionals GmbH since
October 2019. The Munich-based agency group unites various leading specialist picture agencies under one roof. The website
www.houseofpictures.com has undergone a complete re-launch, presenting new agency content, updated functions and a revised, fresh design.
Shutterstock, Inc. has announced that its footage offering is now available for license in SD, HD, and 4K for customers using
iOS and
Android applications. With over 17 million videos in the collection, searching, saving and licensing footage content allows customers to create engaging video content from a mobile or tablet device.
The U.S. Supreme Court says sovereign immunity protects state governments from copyright infringement lawsuits and has decided that it is OK for U.S. states to grab any photo they can find and use it without notifying or compensating the creator. The specific case that brought the matter to the nation’s highest court was filed by Rick Allen, an independent film producer and director in Fayetteville, North Carolina, who in the 1990s filmed the salvaging of the Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard, that had run aground at Beaufort, North Carolina in 1718.
“Sheltering in Place” will certainly hurt many photographers. Photographers won’t be able to get out to shoot new images. Customers won’t be coming to your studio. You might be able to shoot still lifes in your home, but getting props may be difficult. So what can you do to pay your bills? One possibility, particularly if you have a large stock photo collection, is to check out
Canva and see if they will pay a one-time fee to purchase rights to a significant number of your images for inclusion in their Free collection that they make available to their Graphic Design customers.