If the figures in "Getty Images: Why Are Photographer Revenues Dropping?" are reasonably representative, there are at least two major and closely related issues to be considered: the downward trend of royalty-free pricing and oversupply.
In March, iStockphoto chief operating officer Kelly Thompson told
Selling Stock that the company was working on a new search algorithm and a premium image collection. This Wednesday, iStock launched both. Thompson also confirmed that the Getty-owned microstock leader is on track to break another revenue record this year.
Teams from Portugal and Australia have won the print and media Young Lions Competition at the 56th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Getty Images has sponsored Young Lions for 12 years. The company was the exclusive content provider and provided technical support to competitors throughout the process.
First previewed during last year's PhotoPlus Expo and in beta since then, The Copyright Registry has announced the addition of two new functions: bulk upload of URLs and image recognition. Both help identify content owners and usages online.
Earlier this month,
Selling Stock published statistics showing that many of the leading microstock sellers have begun to see substantial drops in the number of images licensed. Rumors abound that traditional sellers have been experiencing similar declines. Several of Getty Images' leading photographers have provided
Selling Stock with detailed breakdowns of their March 2009 sales, which offer some insight into the current state of the industry.
Las Vegas-based Blend Images has launched a product it calls Flex Packs, designed to simplify and offer more flexibility in licensing rights-managed imagery for commercial uses.
Given the rather pessimistic predictions of "Opportunities for Professional Stock Photographers," photographers and stock agents ought to consider several career decisions.
More and more young people aspire to a career in photography. They sell some of their images and believe that, if they work hard, they can be successful. Often, they hope to become full-time stock photographers, so they can shoot what they want, when they want, and eventually achieve fame and fortune. Yet the hard reality is that opportunities for professional stock photographers are in a decline, which will continue in the years ahead.
Last week, I made the statement on my Facebook page that opportunities for professional stock photographers would decline in next few years. Several of my friends and colleagues responded.
The corporate movement toward social responsibility is not a passing fad, says the latest Creative IQ Trends Report from Corbis. Businesses are increasingly embracing philanthropic programs and practices that embody consumer attitudes, which center on the environment, education and ethics.
Footage boutique Global ImageWorks has struck a deal with Direct Holdings America/Time Life to represent the motion content of Soul Train, which currently holds the record for the longest first-run nationally syndicated U.S. TV show.
Deutsche Telekom, the thriving German telecommunications leader and owner of leading global mobile phone service T-Mobile, has launched a microstock business. Operating since the first week of June, Polylooks combines a microstock media store with an online community and a photography magazine.
Munich-based footage company Framepool is touting new high-profile accounts in the North and South American advertising, film and television markets. The deals follow the company's recent expansion into the region.
Corbis and Retna have announced a partnership that adds 250,000 red carpet, film, music, fashion, celebrity and news images from the Retna archive to the Corbis offering, with additional images to be added weekly.
New Zealand keywording company Keedup has announced the launch of a streamlined keywording service aimed at the microstock market segment. The service relies on a 15-word standard that captures the most important technical, literal, thematic and conceptual keywords.
Those selling images to big business at traditional prices must develop a different strategy for addressing the B2SB (small business) market. The strategy needs to embrace the idea of pricing based on value received, so big businesses that receive greater value from the images they purchase continue to pay reasonable fees for that value.
New York microstock company Shutterstock says a recent survey shows that over 40% of traditional buyers are using more stock photography this year compared to last. The survey was conducted by Pennsylvania-based International Communications Research.
Traditional stock-photo sellers wonder why there does not seem to be any growth in demand for their product. The 2006 U.S. Census Bureau statistics of U.S. businesses could provide some clues.
Following the recent election of Image Source founder Christina Vaughan as its new president, the Coordination of European Picture Agencies has announced a seven-member executive committee that will head its work for the next two years.