In the microstock world, when establishing prices for online image use
distributors should consider developing ways to distinguish between
personal or social media uses and those for commercial purposes.
Customers who use images for commercial purposes, and earn revenue as a
result, should be charged more than those whose image use is for
personal, non-revenue generating purposes. On the print side of the
business microstock sellers have already solved this problem to a
degree. They charge more for larger file sizes that are commonly needed
for print uses, and even more when print uses are expected to exceed
500,000 copies.
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has reported that e-Book
sales in February 2011 were $90.3 million, up 202.3% compared to
February 2010. Higher Education sales for January and February
2011 were $406.9 million, down by 5.6% vs the same period in 2010. K-12
sales for the same two-month period were $173 million, a decline of
8.9% compared to 2010.
One way to satisfy customer demands for lower prices without reducing
overall operating costs is to cut the amount paid for the product you’re
selling. Over the past decade some stock photo distributors have used
this strategy very effectively. This article examines the effect that discount prices are having on the ability of stock photographers to earn a living.
Anyone who earns significant revenue from producing or licensing stock
images for educational purposes should be looking, as soon as possible,
for another line of business. Why? It is rapidly becoming
impossible to earn enough from licensing images for educational use to
cover the costs of producing them. For decades photographers have been
willing to license rights for limited usage of their images with the
understanding that if a greater use is made the photographer will
receive additional compensation. This system was originally developed to
help publishers limit their risk in the event that some of the book
they produced did not sell well or generate as much revenue as hoped.
Every photographer detests copyright infringers. When one of their
images is used without compensation they want to be paid not only their
normal fee for the use but a reasonable amount for chasing down the
infringer and enough penalty to insure that the infringer won’t do it
again. The goal is to give everyone incentive to be honest. But is going after infringers really accomplishing that goal and is it generating more business for the future?
The annual CEPIC Congress, to be held this year in Istanbul, is
scheduled for May 18 through 21, 2011, just a little more than a month
away. Image distributors from all over the world will be in attendance.
The CEPIC Congress will be the best opportunity in 2011 for image
distributors to meet some of the leading people in the visual
communications world – thought leaders, early adopters, owner managers,
entrepreneurs - and establish distributor relationships for your work.
I was recently asked by a RM photographer, “Can you provide some
insights into the kinds of volumes that are generated when images are
licensed at microstock prices?” This story provides some information and links as to how to learn more about microstock volumes.
Many photographers licensing images at RM and traditional RF prices
believe that it is impossible to have as profitable business licensing
images at Microstock prices. They argue that despite the fact that some
microstock photographers earn significant revenue due to sales volume
their expenses must be so high that there is very little profit for
their time invested. This story explores the validity of that theory.
In an IBISWorld market research report author Toon Van Beeck has identified the
10 Fasted Dying Industries in the United States. While every industry has a lifecycle – growth, maturity and decline – the fastest dying “standouts” include:
Photofinishing, #4 on the list,
Newspaper Publishing ,#7 and
Video Postproduction, #10. IBIS has a database of 700 industries and studied 200 that were in decline to determine which were in the worst shape.
Prior to 1976 a commissioning client owned the copyright to images
created by photographers. At that time the vast majority of images that appeared in
publications and advertising were created on assignment. The 1976 copyright law changed all that and gave photographers control of their work and the ability to license narrow and specific rights. Now, the business world is pushing photographers back into a model that
looks very much like pre-1976. The promise of a continual income stream
from our creations often seems distant and unobtainable.
The Image Works stock photography agency (http://www.theimageworks.com)
has announced the addition of the Press Association collection to its
archive. Press Association has one of the most extensive collections of
UK news, sports and entertainment images in the world, dating back to
1860.
A rights-managed photographer recently told me that travel photographers must continue to
market their work as rights-managed because there is not enough
customer demand on microstock sites for travel images to enable
photographers to cover their costs and make a profit. He acknowledged that people who shoot model released business and
lifestyle photographs might be able to earn enough to profit from
licensing their images as microstock, but argued that it won't work for
the travel photographer. I decided to search iStockphoto for some popular locations and see how
many times the top ten images from each of these locations had been
downloaded.
The new
Getty Images Contributor Agreement is now available. It raises a number of issues for Getty photographers. Photographers must sign the new contract before the end or April in order to continue to submit new images. If they choose not to sign Getty will continue to license their images until their current contract expires. At that point their images will be removed from the database.
In the past two years Corey Rich has directed and shot more than 15 video profiles for Apple. The stories have generally centered around small business and enterprise companies that have integrated iPhone and iPad for greater efficiency and, in many cases, a positive effect on their bottom line. His two minute
iPad in Business profile of Eric Jackson and Jackson Kayaks may give you an idea of new business opportunities that are opening up for still photographers turned videographers and producers.
Cutcaster recently conducted a survey using their own database and Adbase’s email list of creatives in multiple industries in North America. The professional backgrounds of the recipients cover most industries. They received 344 responses almost all of which came from North America with the next largest groups being South America and the UK. See the preliminary results at
http://blog.cutcaster.com/2011/02/10/picture-buyer-stats-released-market-information-for-online-image-users/
Masterfile has launched a free new app for the iPad and iPhone that is
specifically designed to save time for art directors, designers and
media professionals. The Masterfile app lets them find the images they
need quickly and easily while on the move. Masterfile’s new app can be downloaded from the iTunes store. To find out more, visit
http://www.masterfile.com/app.
About two years after publishing on Flickr photos of himself screaming, Noam Galai discovered that his face was ‘for sale’ in several stores around the world, as well as on the Web. The image was spotted in Spain, Iran, Mexico, England and many other places. When he realized that it was not a one-time-thing he decided to start collecting images/videos of all his ‘appearances’. Check out his
Scream Blog where he posts all the different photos and products he can find with his face.
Educational publishers regularly set up “preferred provider” agreements
with image suppliers who represent large collections. Publishers outline
certain standard terms and uses. The image provider is then asked to
stipulate a fee that will be charged for each use. Based on the fees
providers agree to charge the publisher decides which supplier to use. McGraw
Hill School Education Group has recently requested quotes from
potential preferred providers and they have introduced a new concept for
determining circulation of the product. Instead of talking about the
number of copies printed McGraw Hill now refers to the number of “unique
users.”
PhotoShelter, has released a 44-page e-book entitled 'How to Sell Prints'. This is the latest in a long-running series of free and comprehensive e-books designed to equip photographers with the tools needed for success in today's marketplace. The guide outlines basic and intermediate business strategies designed to help photographers get started selling prints. This free book includes a variety of insightful case studies and action plans, as well as expert recommendations and can be requested here:
http://www.photoshelter.com/mkt/how-to-sell-prints
Federal appeals court judge Denny Chin has rejected Google’s proposed
settlement of copyright claims arising from the company’s digitization
of books. Since the case is a class action, the court, and not the
parties, must determine whether the settlement is fair, adequate and
reasonable.
One of the themes that emerged at the “
La Fotografia In Italia” photojournalism conference in Milan last weekend was that the majority of feature stories photojournalists produce deal with tragedies. Some of the editors expressed the opinion that they were tired of seeing so much tragedy and were looking for something more positive and uplifting. A few photographers responded that they are just producing what the market asks for. Someone said that photojournalism is there to reveal the ugliness of our world and documenting various aspects of tragedies is right and proper. Read the whole story by
Enzo dal Verme on his blog and my comments here.
Veer (
www.veer.com) has announced the introduction of an Extended Customer Protection Plan, providing customers with up to $250,000(USD) coverage for 100 Veer Credits. Veer credit prices range from $0.78 to $1.41 depending on the size of the credit package purchased.
Science Photo Library, has signed a licensing agreement with
Global Grid for Learning, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cambridge University Press and one of the most comprehensive digital educational content collections in the world.
The Stock Artists Alliance (SAA), a photographer trade association, has
announced that it is discontinuing operations. Founded in 2001, this
organization came into being after Getty Images announced that it
planned to make significant changes in its photographer contracts. At
that time relations between Getty Images and its contract photographers
had become steadily “more strained” over a period of 18 months.
Those who license rights to use photos in textbooks should include
language in their invoices that requires publishers to provide the
licensor with a password to any web site where the licensors images are
used.This story explains why it is important and provides recommended language.