News Analysis
As more and more customers choose Royalty Free over Rights Protected Images the overall size of the market for stock photos, in terms of dollars, not number of images used, is changing. Consider the statistics.
More agencies are deciding that their survival as they compete with RF is dependent on being able to sell high-end exclusive rights. To do this they believe they need to control the rights to all similars to their catalog images, not just the image itself. This tends to limit sales, and gross dollar volume, for many photographers and is creating quite a dilemma.
With this file you can print out the entire July 1999 issue of SELLING STOCK which includes: Comstock For Sale, Business Week Raises Rates, Editorial Photo Forum, Corbis Acquires Sygma, Geographic Guilty of Copyright Infringement, TSI Pricing Structures, Getty Buys Art.com, ''Artists Choice'' at EyeWire and more.
Several short items including: TSI Production Shoots, Video Pirates, Web Advertising Rates, Lifting Images Off The Net and more.
Business Week has announced an interm rate increase after receiving pressure from a group of editorial photographers. Negotiations are continuing with two full proposals on the table and more is expected by fall.
An offering is being circulated in the finacial community to sell Comstock. VCG is the most likely buyer and the deal is expected to be closed soon. Comstock photographers who are not equity owners will probably be out in the cold.
EyeWire starts offering ''Rights Protected'' contracts with an ''Artist Choice'' provision that pays photographers 70% of the gross fee collected. Our story provides a detailed analysis of the various provisions in this 15 page contract.
Several short items including: Moffly Leaves FPG, Corbis Acquires Sygma, ASMP's stock catalog, TSI's move to merge collections, and more.
National Geographic Society has been found guilt of two counts of copyright infringement from underwater photographers Jerry and Idaz Greenberg in a landmark case in Miami. The precedent may aid other photographers. Damages are still to be set.
Four short items: Will MCI's cutback on annual report photography become a trend?, One Photographer's Success Story, the NY Times Promotes Stealing Photos, and art directors cut fingers on TSI's Tin Can.
ASMP is negotiating with TIME Inc. for a rise in the editorial day rate, but some photographers are not that happy with some of the positions ASMP is taking. If ASMP's proposals become an ''industry wide'' standard, the rates some publications are paying might go down.
We take a look at some of the online photo forums and how they can benefit photographers. Particular emphasis is given to the new Editorial Photo Forum.
This is a continuation of the battle between ASMP and PACA over what what rights photographers and agencies should expect from one another, and what responsibilities they should have to the other.
This series of short articles gives details on a new photo forum for editorial photographers; Corbis; EyeWire; the retail book market and ''sharing the risk'' with publishers.
Getty Images acquired Art.com a leading provider of framed and unframed art sold to the consumer market. Total acquisition cost could be $202 million.
PACA outlines their position after an unsatisfactory meeting with ASMP to try to imporve the overall relationships between the two organizations.
With this file you can print out the entire May 1999 issue of SELLING STOCK which includes: the results of the photographer survey, Direct Sales Online, Methods to protect your rights by Robert Cavallo, Other Legal Updates, new develpment at Getty and TSI, and more.
The theme of one of the seminars at the recent PACA annual meeting in New York was ''The Web in Ten Years.'' Roger Ressmeyer moderated the panel and this story presents his opening remarks.
There is an increasing trend for some stock agencies to produce print catalogs designed as ''Image Builders'' rather than to sell specific images. We examine the implications of this type of marketing for the photographers who participate and suggest steps photographers can take.
TSI's price schedules for brochures, postcards and external newsletters show low rates for larger than 1/4 page uses and may be indicative of pricing trends as some agencies try to compete with Royalty Free.
Getty Images reports overall sales of $52.2 million for the first quarter. This was up slightly from $50.1 million in the 4th quarter of 1998. The e-commerce portion is also growing.
This article includes: Tasini Update, London Times Justifies Stealing, People on the Move, Getting an image chosen for a Stock Agency Ad can be a Bummer, New TSI Developments and the Size of the Creative Market.
Lawyer Robert Cavallo outlines a number of contractual issues that photographers and agents should consider when licensing work in the electronic environment.
Arriba Vista has developed a technique for indexing individual images on the web that could be a breakthrough for photographers trying to get their images seen. There are also risks. The technology is still in its infantcy, but it may have a dramatic long term effect on agency/photographer relationships.
The results of the 1999 Profits Survey circulated in January are now complete. This gives the most comprehensive information on stock photographer income and expenses ever published.