Selling Stock has updated its estimates of the gross revenue generated worldwide by the stock photo industry in 2008. We have also estimated the number of images licensed under rights-managed, royalty-free and microstock models and segmented global sales by geographic region.
Over three quarters (77%) of consumers agree that they can make a positive difference by purchasing from socially or environmentally responsible companies, says the new BBMG Conscious Consumer Report: Redefining Value in a New Economy. However, 23% of consumers they have "no way of knowing" if a product is actually green or does what it claims.
I believe that worldwide customers pay a combined total of about $1.8 billion for still stock images and illustration annually. There has been virtually no growth in this market in the last few of years. In the fall of 2008 Corbis CEO Gary Shenk estimated that total 2007 revenue for the industry was $2.3 billion and predicted that it will decline to $2.2 billion by 2012.
Rumors of Getty Images losing the exclusive business of the National Football League have been circulating for over a week and were finally confirmed during this week's annual meeting of The Associated Press. In passing, AP president and chief executive officer Tom Curley said that last week, the AP became the exclusive licenser of NFL photography for commercial use, winning the business from Getty.
The eighth annual Picture Buyers Fair takes place on May 6 and 7 at London's Business Design Centre and offers a new service to photographers.
The Associated Press has announced plans to launch an industry initiative to protect news content from misappropriation online. Unfortunately, the proposed measures amount to tracking content and suing perpetrators, with which the stock-licensing industry has had plenty of experience but limited and unquantifiable success.
Getty Images has notified its suppliers that it will discontinue offering rights-managed content on the Jupiterimages website as of August 1. Images will be pulled down from www.jupiterimages.com, www.jupiterimages.ca, www.jupiterimages.co.uk, www.jupiterimages.com.au, www.jupiterimages.de, www.jupiterimages.fr and www.jupiterimages.es.
Getty Images has revised, simplified and made its model and property releases more visually appealing with larger text. These releases are available in twelve languages and anyone can use them, regardless of whether or not they license images through Getty Images.
While undoubtedly self-promotional in initial intent, PhotoShelter's newly released SEO Cookbook offers plain-language guidance on how to optimize a photography Web site for best search-engine placement. The 30-page PDF file is available upon request and will be particularly useful for those who are daunted by marketing their work online.
Las Vegas-based multiethnic stock-licensing company Blend Images has revamped its identity, Web site and marketing campaign. The design work was done by Spil Creative, a New York shop managed by Latin-American and Asian-American partners.
On April 2, Corbis filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a Washington, D.C.-based National Museum of Crime and Punishment. Beyond the inescapable irony of a museum devoted to crime committing one, the allegations outlined in the complaint are particularly egregious. Purportedly, NMCP agreed to pay Corbis a licensing fee of $139,600 for limited non-exclusive use of 705 images, did not pay any of such fees but has used the images since last May and continues to do so to this day.
After a recent partnership with Thought Equity Motion, which was universally deemed a smart move by industry pundits, Corbis has launched a new Corbis Motion Web site. The Bill Gates-owned company now offers ten times more footage and boasts sophisticated e-commerce features.
The most commonly heard complaint from traditional photographers about microstock is that it is impossible to make money selling pictures for a few dollars. Yet the expected 2009 earnings of some 150 iStockphoto contributors suggest that these shooters make a very respectable living, even by U.S. full-time traditional shooter standards.
California-based Brand Affinity Technologies, which specializes in bringing athlete and celebrity endorsements to the Web, has struck a limited exclusive deal to provide its advertiser-clients with access to Getty Images editorial image collection.
At this week's Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, ImageSpan and PicScout announced a partnership to help ImageSpan's LicenseStream subscribers track and monetize content published online. The two companies said this alliance not only offers licensing and tracking services, but also addresses the growing problem of online image theft.
Portland-based Aurora Photos has launched an eco-compilation. The company aims to address the needs of earth-conscious advertisers, green-living magazines, corporations and environmental organizations.
According to the latest Corbis Creative IQ Trends report, the popularity of triathlons has exploded since their introduction as an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney games. Economic pressures have helped, as people increasingly seek positive outlets to exert control over their lives.
WebMediaBrands-reported fourth-quarter figures for Jupiterimages show an 11.6% revenue decline from total 2007 revenues and a 23.1% decline from last year's final quarter.