News Analysis
a21, Inc. reported gross revenue for the second quarter of 2004 was $2.5 million. A21 completed its acquisition of SuperStock on February 29, 2004 so this is the first full quarter that they have owned the company. They had $797,868 in revenue from SuperStock in March giving them revenue of $3,325,165 for the first half of 2004. SuperStock generated gross revenue of $2.3 million for the second quarter of 2003.
Jupitermedia has reported revenues for the second
quarter of 2004 of $17.8 million compared with $10.2 million for the same period in 2003. Till now Jupiter has been a RF supplier, but within the next 40 to 70 days they plan to announce a new "revolutionary" way to sell Rights Managed images.
New methods of advertising are likely to cause a dramatic shift in the way still images are used. Experts differ on whether increased Internet advertising will result in an increase or decrease in revenue, but having better data
relative to internet usage is critical to understand the problem and planning. This story examines one way to get much better data on Internet use.
For some time I have been advising stock photographers to "shoot digital" and transition as quickly as possible to digital workflow. Recently, I discovered that some agencies still prefer to receive film. Learn about some of the problems agencies are encountering with digital
submissions.
Celebrity photographers may be at great legal risk when photographing public figures in private places. They may have fewer rights than they might think. This story by Jonathan Coad on the case Von Hannover vs. Germany outlines a new legal decision in Europe that photographers should note.
This story has short items on: Great Art Directors Think Alike, Jupitermedia Acquired Thinkstock, Online Ad Growth Predicted, How 18-34 Males Are Reinventing Advertising, Masterfile To Use PicScout, New TrendWatch Stock Image Report, and Index Expands With Trove.net.
Chris Bain,Photography Director for Barnes & Noble provides a buyers perspective on the quality of digital files and digital delivery. He also outlines problems that some sellers may be overlooking.
Getty Images has reported second quarter revenue of $150.3 million compared to $127.7 million in Q2 2003. Operating income grew 67.6 percent to $39.8 million, or 26.5 percent of revenue, compared to $23.8 million, or 18.6 percent of revenue, in Q2 2003. A number of interesting details related to their operation and future planning were revealed in the conference call.
Upper Cut Images is a new Rights Managed stock
agency that expects to launch in early 2005 with
10,000 to 20,000 high end images covering all
the major advertising categories according to Ellen Boughn, Vice President and Creative Director. The agency has currently signed about 20 photographers and is looking for a few more experienced stock shooters who are aggressive producers.
This story has items on: a21 Sells Headquarters for $7.5 Million, Zefa Offering DV and Stockbyte Collections, More CEPIC From Stockbyte, Ablestock Adds Keith Levit Collection, PictureQuest Upgrades Site, Getty vs. Getty,
and Buyer Interest in Color Management.
This issue of the print edition of Selling Stock has stories on: Visual Search, Getty Launches Stone+, Subscription Stock, Stock Photo Market Size, 100% Digital Workflow, Stockdisc - Low Priced RF from Stockbyte, Zefa Uncovers Massive Unauthorized Use Online, E-Data Sues Getty & Corbis, Veer & Photonica, Science & Medical Agents, PACA Sets Dates for International Conference and more.
This story has items on: Zefa Uncovers Unauthorized
Uses, Prices For Getty's StoneX Images, Decline In
Printed Materials, 11th CEPIC Congress A Success,
Online Catalogs and EMPICS Acquired By The Press
Association.
Jonathan Klein was recently invited to write an
article for the Financial Times as part of a series
of articles by major corporate leaders on their
company and industry. Within the article he offers
some interesting figures and statistics.
The stock photo industry is on the verge of the
next major change in the way images are searched
and found online. This change could make it easier
for small player to get more of their images
online, and significantly change the playing
field for larger players depending on how quickly
they adapt to, and promote, the new technology.
At the recent CEPIC Congress in Copenhagen
Stockbyte announced that it will launch a new
RF brand - Stockdisc - with the first 40 titles
available in September. Each disc will have
significantly more images (150 average) and
be priced much lower (249 euros) than most RF
discs currently available.
In the SAA newsletter recently photographers Mark Harmel and Peter and Georgina Bowater described their odyssey in trying to find distributors for their science and healthcare images. This article is instructive to all photographers seeking agents and to agents that would like to better understand the concerns and needs of photographers.
This story has items on Veer & Photonica Alliance, Getty's Preparations for Olympics, Getty Selling Fine Art Prints Through Amazon, UK Newspapers Not Crediting Photographers, NY Subway Picture Ban, and Greeting Card Market.
This story has short items on: Stone+, 100% Digital Workflow at Corbis, VPAimages and Photolibrary in Asia, Masterfile Moves Representation, Stockbyte Three Tier Pricing, Iconica Expands in Europe, Black Star and Stockshop/Medichrome and Image Source 7 Catalog.
The newest way to sell stock photography is through subscriptions. The image quality is improving, the fees for usage are low, and most companies engaged in this line of business wholly own most of the images they license. The number of customers using subscription services is growing significantly. Pat Hunt has taken a look at the major player and explained how the business works.
This stroy details my calculations of total worldwide revenue generated from the sale of still stock images and stock illustrations in 2003. I believe it was about $1.5 billion and have provided details as to how I arrived at that figure. I also discuss revenue for various segments of the market.
This story has short items on: Customer Concerns with Getty Sports League Partnerships, E-Data Sues Getty and Corbis, Date Set for PACA International Conference, Index Stock To Use PicScout, New Strategy for Stock Image, Stockbyte Introduces Filtration and ImageState Relaunches Website.
This print edition of the newsletter has stories on: Editorial Stock Challenges; PictureArts Buys Nonstock; Great Quarter for Getty; Jupitermedia Buys Comstock; A21 Acquires SuperStock; Freeny Attack; Alamy Exceeds Million Images; Enforcing Your Copyright; PicScout Image Recognition; WireImage and the NFL and SAA Investigative Shopping.
Getty Images reported record first quarter revenue of $156.5 million, a 20.1% growth over the $130.3 million earned in Q1 2003, and 16.4% growth over the $134.4 million in sales in Q4 2003. They benefited significantly from currency exchange rates, but even excluding this benefit revenue still grew by 11%.
PictureArts has completed an agreement to acquire Nonstock and will establish an East Coast office in the Nonstock offices in New York. Currently PictureArts has two RM brands -- FoodPix and Botanica -- and the RF brand, Brand X Pictures. This acquisition probably makes Picture Arts the 4th largest image seller headquartered in the U.S.
Some lessons for stock photographers farom the fashion industry. Are the high fashion, edgy looks the best sellers in clothes or pictures, or is it really about basics?