We are on the cusp of explosive demand for short-form videos designed for the net. Are you a still shooter experiencing declining RPI? Do you have to work twice as hard and produce double the quantity of images just to stay even now? If so, video production may offer an opportunity to stay in the business of photography.
Nielsen Net/Ratings, a global leader in Internet media and market research, has recently announced a new system for ranking online sites called "Total Minutes." This move could open tremendous opportunities for short-form videos.
There is no good way to estimate how many RF or RM sales are being lost because the customers are buying microstock instead. There are indications that Getty's RF sales in 2006 were declining about 10,000 units a quarter or 40,000 for the year. However, this is hard to confirm because Getty acquired Stockbyte last year and that acquisition should have boosted the total number of RF units sold. If 40,000 units were lost at an average price of $250, that would be $10 million.
Corbis and Condé Nast have reached an agreement to license fashion and celebrity imagery originally published by Women's Wear Daily. The arrangement expands Corbis's editorial offerings, while providing Condé Nast with a secondary revenue stream.
Getty Images has launched a new footage Web site, which features improved search capabilities and instant broadcast-quality downloads. In addition, the company announced the replacement of rights-managed footage licensing with the rights-ready model.
PA Photos, the picture agency of the U.K.'s national Press Association, announced a new release of its real-time image delivery service and a new medical representation agreement.
A number of PhotoDisc photographers have become increasingly upset at the non-payment of royalties for almost two years - and Getty is in a legal situation where they can't do much about it.
Kelly Thompson, senior vice president of iStockphoto, found a novel way to thank the company's photographers. On Aug. 19, the day Louis Daguerre's discovery was released to the world in 1839, iStock will introduce the photographic community to a new holiday: Punctum Day's. The first Punctum Day will be commemorated by the launch of several "thank you" programs for iStock contributors. These will include eight contests with more than $40,000 in prizes.
The Calgary-based microstock pioneer iStockphoto says its community has surpassed 2 million members. Of this number, 38,000 people are contributors - and many microstock photographers moonlight as art directors and graphic designers who also buy images.
Jupitermedia acquired Mediabistro for $20 million in cash and a two-year earn-out that may result in an additional $3 million. Lauren Touby, the founder of the New York-based online community Mediabistro.com, who will stay with the company, referred to the $23 million deal as "a marriage of minds and media resources."