Despite the overwhelming amount of imagery available for licensing, traditional buyers are far from satisfied. So says PhotoShelter, which surveyed over 700 of its customers to reveal that nearly three-quarters of respondents have a difficult time finding the types of images they seek.
When I argued at the recent CEPIC conference in Malta that stock photo prices should be based on end use, one RF distributor asked, "Why is use pricing fair? When you buy a pencil, the price is the same regardless of how it will be used. Shouldn't photos be priced in the same way?" The answer is no.
Research conducted by iStockphoto in the U.K. supports the notion that there exists a much larger market than already tapped by microstock. Though the iStock market sample was somewhat small, the survey illuminates several definitive image-use trends among small and medium-sized businesses.
This month has seen a flurry of activity from online content superstore Newscom. The company has brought on several new brands and reorganized its sales and business development operations to "reach new markets and develop relationships with new partners," said managing director Bill Creighton.
Days before the planned Getty merger with private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman, a corporate memo offers the industry leader's perspective of the current competitive landscape. Company management places total visual-content revenues at $7 billion to $8 billion per year, with original commissioned work generating 61%.
Digital Railroad has upgraded the technology of its Marketplace, a sales platform that recently became the focus of the business. Among new features is a rights-managed pricing calculator that integrates the Picture Licensing Universal System international standards.
SnapVillage is officially out of beta. In preparing for the full commercial launch, the Corbis-owned microstock, which now has some 300,000 images available for sale, has upgraded its image-handling and back-end technologies. The company is also running a 25% discount on its subscription service for the month of June.
Alamy has launched a program called Limited Use that makes it possible for those selling images as RM and traditional RF to make the same images available to some customers for nominal fees - without risking loss of revenue at the higher end of the market.
LicenseStream, the content-licensing service touted by California tech-company ImageSpan since last fall, is now generally available. Offering individual and enterprise-scale options, LicenseStream wants to speed up and simplify licensing digital media, as well as eliminate 90% of the costs.
Corbis' plans for the 55th International Advertising Festival, which begins on June 15 in Cannes, focus on the role of photography and celebrity in advertising. During the week-long festival, Corbis will host and sponsor a number of events, including a rights workshop and several exhibits.
Photolibrary's latest advertising effort by TBWA/Tequila Singapore has made a splash on the global ad-award circuit. To date, the creative won metal at The Spikes, an Asia-Pacific ad-awards show, and the international One Show and Clio Awards.
Digital-art marketplace Zymmetrical of Vancouver, Canada, has partnered with Atlanta-based AdByNet, a full-service online advertising agency. Under the agreement, AdByNet users gain access to Zymmetrical's inventory of photos, images, graphics, fonts and videos.
The Picture Archive Council of America has launched a service to assist buyers in locating creators of seemingly orphaned images. The first live test of Orphan Search matched a photo with its owner in under an hour.