A Paris court ruled Google's book-digitization project violates France's copyright laws.
Geneva-based AbsolutVision is discounting pricing by 20% through Jan. 11. AbsolutVision specializes in JPEG2000 stock offered on a subscription basis at an annual cost of just under $50.
Largely not, at least according to industry analyst Dan Heller. All financial assumptions about the stock photo industry may well be entirely wrong.
It is not just the general public's right-click-and-save mentality image producers and agencies need to worry about. While stock-photo professionals assume that those employed in creative jobs are at least conversant with copyright, a new Deutsche Telekom survey revealed that nearly half (44%) of marketing, public relations and publishing professionals think that a royalty-free image is an image that can be used without payment. Worse yet, 37% of respondents admitted having used images illegally by swiping them off the Internet.
Should a photographer license his work as royalty-free (RF) for a 20%
royalty or rights-managed (RM) for a 40% to 50% royalty? The answer
seems simple, but maybe not. In a previous article I pointed out that there is absolutely no justification for a
distributor paying only a royalty of only 20% when an images is
licensed as RF and 40% when it is licensed as RM. It doesn't cost the
distributor any more to license an image as RF than as RM. In fact, if
anything, because negotiating time is involved in making some RM sales
it may actually cost the distributor more to license rights to an RM
image than to an RF one. Thus, if we were basing the royalty share
solely on the relative contributions of the distributor and the creator
to the sale, the RF royalty should be higher, not lower, than the
royalty for RM.
In January2010, pacaSearch will roll out a major marketing campaign
to picture buyers to promote its new pacaSearch software. At a recent demonstration at PictureHouse in New
York, Lee Horton, Multimedia Editor of K12 Inc. said, “Learning about
the functionality and usefulness of [pacaSearch] put a big smile on my
face. As a photo editor and art buyer, I search multiple sites daily.
This tool puts more control in my hands. I can keep the results pages
in tabs with fewer keystrokes, page toggles and site crashes. The
relative percentages, predictive text and term definitions create a
tight, clean search environment. With the launch of pacaSearch, I can
successfully and accurately find imagery in less time, with less
hassle, while having more agency resources at my fingertips. Thank you,
PACA.”
PhotoShelter has updated its Web site code base to offer "better reliability and easier extensibility," says chief executive officer Allen Murabayashi. The company has also introduced several frequently requested features--including the latest version of popular pricing software FotoQuote--into its online photo-archive product favored by independent photographers and stock agencies.
According to Paul Melcher, Getty Images is now offering publishers "new low prices in exchange for being the sole provider." Assuming that is true, it could easily backfire on Getty, and may point to a need for photographers to revise their marketing strategies.
Getty Images has completed the full acquisition of HAAP Media, the Hungarian company that retained partial ownership of Stock.xchng and StockXpert after Getty's acquisition of Jupiterimages.
In looking ahead to 2010, photographers should focus on how they will adapt to the new realities of the photography business.
Getty Images-owned iStockphoto has announced the changes it plans to make in the coming year. The company's long-term shift toward exclusive content continues with new products and pricing adjustments, which include major increases. iStock is also changing credit pricing and contributor canister levels, which drive the commission structure.
One of the leading thinkers in today's stock photo industry is Rick Becker-Leckrone, the chief executive officer, principle founder and chief architect of Blend Images, one of the world's more successful stock production companies. In April 2009, photographer John Lund conducted an in-depth interview with Becker-Leckrone.
California-based multi-ethnic image boutique PhotoEdit conducted a survey that suggests that the most typical buyer of rights-managed imagery is an early-forties female employed as a photo researcher or photo editor. Survey questions, which were sent to 1,230 buyers, were geared toward those working at large publishing houses and magazines.
The following are some principles that apply all types of stock photo sales. The base numbers on the pricing schedules on this site are average rates for one-time, non-exclusive use of a single image by the smallest of companies, and assuming that the image has no unique factors that would make it more valuable. These numbers are equal to U.S. dollars and are reasonable rates for commercial use of the average professionally produced stock image. Other currencies should adjust accordingly. Photographer should be aware of the existence of similar microstock images that might fulfill the customer's requirements if exclusivity is not an issue for the customer. In such cases the photographer may find it necessary to negotiate a lower fee.
Latinstock Digital, the asset-management subsidiary of the Latinstock photographic cooperative, has entered into a joint venture agreement with KIT Digital, a provider of on-demand video-management software. The two companies have agreed to cross-market services, thus expanding the range of the total offering, to each other's and potential new clients. For Latinstock, the agreement means a stronger foothold in the video and European markets and an expansion of its service roster.
ZenithOptimedia (Publicis) says that global ad spend for 2009 will be 10.2% lower than 2008, but that in 2010 it is expected to be up 0.9% compared to 2009. Group M (WPP) thinks 2009 spending will only be down about 6.6% from 2008 levels and expects 2010 to be 0.8% above 2009. There is no expectation that ad spending will get back to 2008 levels anytime soon.
Getty Images, which has held the official title of photographic agency to the International Olympic Committee for 22 years, is gearing up to cover the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February. The agency was first designated as the official provider of such services during Canada's first Winter Olympics of 1988 in Calgary, Alberta-the home of Getty-owned iStockphoto.
Corbis is the new exclusive rep of a collection of Egyptian imagery by Sandro Vannini, who just launched a limited-edition large-scale photography book A Secret Voyage featuring this collection. Vannini has spent the past 12 years capturing Egyptian archaeological heritage in collaboration with Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Marrying the features made familiar by companies such as OnRequest, fotoLibra and various community-based photo businesses, Austin-based FocalPop launched a marketplace where buyers can post requests for photographers to reply with photos. Buyers describe images, the price they are willing to pay and the type of license they seek-then select a winning image among submissions from site users.