February 2, 2010 by pmelcher.

Well, not exactly. The Investment firm MSD managed by Michael Dell, the founder of the famous computers, has acquires 185,000 prints from the Magnum collection. The sum? undisclosed. But it is rumored to be the largest photo transaction in history. The terms, also unclear. Magnum retains the copyright and the  licensing rights.

So what did the MSD acquire ? Well, probably just that : 185,00 prints ranging from the the 1930’s to 1998. The prints will reside for now in Austin, Texas, Harry Ransom Center for 5 years. After that, nothing is known.It is certainly a well thought out coup for Magnum which has been struggling with financial issues for decades and avoided multiple acquisition schemes launched by the Corbis and Getty’s .

This will give them a financial security to continue to operate independently for a long while without losing their cherished independence.It is also great news for photography lovers. Not only Magnum escapes the claw of the greedy corporates and their notorious incompetence but there is a good chance this collection will travel across the world for viewing by even more people.

Finally, since Magnum is a co op, there is a very good chance the photographers themselves retain the majority of this financial downfall and they really, really deserve it.

PS : estimates put the deal at $100 Million. That is about $500.00 per print. Is that a good deal ?

More here  at Bloomberg news 

Posted in photojournalism, copyright, Magnum, finance, transaction, corbis, editorial, getty | Print | No Comments »

January 28, 2010 by pmelcher.

Must be something in the air… First, there is the mighty Getty, the company  that has invented photography according to it’s CEO, who launched a new interface. Users can now select what country they are from so they can get a more customized offering.  Here is how it looks:

That looks great, right? Except, they forgot the USA. Which is their biggest market . Man, those meetings must be fun.

Than, there is the always funny Corbis. In an interview for the BJP, a highly place executive try to explain the recent Veer  realignment from high end RM to microstock. Never mind this fits perfectly in Corbis’ history of destroying the brands they acquire, he says : ” To make that happen, he explains, Veer will ‘remove rights-managed images from the site when we launch the new offering.’ However, Nerland tells BJP that the images will continue to be sold on the Corbis website, which is targeted at ‘more traditional and sophisticated customers.”

“sophisticated customers” ? Does that mean Microstock customers are trash ? a bunch of trailer park hoodlums with greasy fingers ? Do they smell bad too ?

The same person proceeds to intelligently explain: “Nerland assures BJP that overall prices for royalty-free images will not go down as a result. However, he adds, ‘some images might migrate down in terms of price point, especially for content that we own.’”

Aaah, that makes sense: price images according to who owns it instead of their quality. Sure. So if they acquire Cartier-Bresson collection tomorrow, that would be cheaper than images of that schmuck over there who loves to shoot businessmen shaking hands. Brilliant !

Told you. Must be something in the air. The Corpocrates are loosing it.

Posted in technology, commercial stock, No sense, finance, getty, corbis, Microstock | Print | No Comments »

January 27, 2010 by pmelcher.

Before we go any further ( we spoke about the Ipad here already anyways), we need to point out something extremely important. There are people in this industry, when they talk, you listen. Jonathan Klein is one because who knows what other damage he will create with his roller company  and he lies a lot ( according to Klein. “We were the first people in the world to sell an image online,”). Ellen Boughn is another.

For those who don’t know Ellen ( are they any?) , let me explain : Ellen is one of these extremely rare person that have done it all. From editorial, to commerial stock, royalty free and Microstock, she has been deeply involved in every facet of this industry. Unlike others, she has gotten herself dirty with all aspects of licensing images from production to sales, from little to giant corporation. She has seen everything and pays attention to everything. She has an insight that is only surpassed by her intelligence. There is nothing that scares her and she has the curiosity of a 10 year old. She has met everybody that is anybody in this business and yet respects everyone the same way. She has a passion for photography that would put to shame anyone. She is so good that his master himself, Henri Cartier Bresson, offered her a signed print, something that he extremely rarely did.

To top it all, she is an independent thinker. She will tell you things the way they are, regardless of the consequences. She knows no camp but excellence and truth. Her incisive mind can be brutally honest  because she is not scared of anything or anyone.  She is an encyclopedia of knowledge that you will never read anywhere ( unless she publishes more books). She is one of the reason why I love this industry so much : It attracts some of the smartest, intelligent, witty, knowledgeable people on the planet. People with a vast culture and yet  constantly curious about everything.

Why do I write this ? Because Ellen has started her on blog. And if you only read one thing, that should be it. Amateur, pro, super pro, whatever side of this industry you are, this should be the first thing you read. You will never be offered such a rewarding experience, for free. So, stop reading this and go bookmark her blog and hold on to you socks.

http://www.ellenboughn.com/blog

We are not worthy..

Posted in license, multimedia, magazine, technology, commercial stock, Magnum, web 2.0, photojournalism, getty, Royalty free, corbis, editorial, transaction, Microstock | Print | 5 Comments »

January 7, 2010 by pmelcher.

(see Italian version of this entry on Poterefotografico )One of the leading explanation for the disappearance of the Neanderthals was that they could not adapt their tools to  the new conditions surrounding them. They were stubbornly trying to use those they had and adapt them. Obviously it did not work and they vanished.It is said that they might not have had the mental capacity to understand their conditions and were genetically doomed anyway. Since the invasions of the corpocrate in the photo industry in the late 90’s and early 00’s, brought forth by companies like Corbis, Getty and the now defunct Jupiter/A21, it seems that we are seeing prehistory repeat itself.Armed with poorly adaptable tools inherited by their MBA schools, a steady stream of self assure corpocrates have slowly invaded the photo business trade.  They have tried to adapt the industry to their tools rather than the opposite. An incessant flow of un-passionate executives coming from all kind of non photo related backgrounds have the taken the helm of these companies, utterly convince of their superior business understanding, only to be spit out a few years later. Regardless, they persist. The amount of ex Corbis, Ex Getty or ex Jupiter executive who had no previous experience in the photo industry before they entered those companies and have now opened some kind of photo related business is frightening. As if a failed stint in these corporation have made them suddenly experts. Some open RF photo agencies ( the majority), others become Success Coaches or marketing experts ( with newsletters or blogs) , while others create “one trick poney” companies that have no chance of surviving. They all have in common this pathetic idea that somehow, somewhere, they received the magic touch from the Photography gods and they have seen the Light.While all these ex open their useless shops, their old companies replace them with new batches of fresh executives, as clueless as they were, in the hope that someone, anyone, will figure out how to make these tools fit the market, or the opposite.All this would be amusing if it wasn’t for the fact that in the process their are destroying their own market. Because this industry is not, or poorly regulated, anything goes. And like a bunch of irresponsible farmers, they are creating there own dustbowl. Obsessive and poorly equipped for change, they try over and over,  to survive, or grow, by applying their inadequate solutions.It is not photogrpahy that is dying.  Actually, it is doing just fine. It is the Business of photo licensing. From publishing CFO’s convinced that by cutting their photo department they will revert the incessant decline of their publications to photo agency executive who beleive that by cutting their prices, bankruptcy will ignore them, to photographers smiling when they receive commission check with sales of 11 cents, there seems that there is no shortage of Neanderthals these days.Most of this is driven by fear. Fear of change, fear of losing , fear of even trying.  Those who’s responsibility is to create and  license professional grade images are paralyzed by fear. Mostly because they  shortsightedly beleive that on the other side of change there is chaos, death and emptiness. Just like their ancestors did.Sure, they don’t eat as well as before, and sure, they do not travel as much and sure hard times demand sacrifices. But something is better than nothing, right ? And the solution is right around the corner, isn’t it? someone will find out what to do and then I can follow their example. Right ? Why would I change what I have been doing for so long. I didn’t do anything wrong. Things will come back to what they used to be. Right ? right ? Can somebody please answer me ?5 years from now, this landscape will have been completely transformed. It’s going to be a painful carnage ( it has already started). The first to go will be those who fear.

Posted in photojournalism, license, Jupiter, commercial stock, finance, transaction, getty, corbis, editorial, Royalty free | Print | No Comments »

December 3, 2009 by pmelcher.

It said that if you give a typewriter to a monkey and a lot of time, eventually he will write a Shakespearean play. So what happens when you give a camera. Will you ever get a Cartier-Bresson book ? A 33 year old Orangutan named Nonja who lives in a zoo in Austria has been given a camera this Tuesday and has since been snapping happily.

“Nonja takes photographs with a Samsung ST1000 digital camera which connects directly to her Facebook album via wi-fi - when she presses the shutter button the photo is uploaded. The camera has a protective cover to protect against  chewing.” says The Age.com. She  has already accumulated more than 2,000 fans since she has started her Facebook page this Tuesday.Every time she snaps a picture, she also gets a raisin, which is more than most human photographers get.

So what next? Will Getty make her sign an exclusive contract ( isn’t it what Getty thinks of its photographers already )? Or will Corbis buy the entire Zoo and merge it with Veer and announce, once again, that profitability is right around the corner? Will microstockers go up in arms in saying this is unfair competition and request raisins too ? Or will they also start chewing their cameras? Will PDN make a cover story on her and will Nikon endorse her? Will she start her own photo agency and slashes prices to one raisin per image ? Will Getty be able to follow such a price ?

Regardless, Nonja will keep on taking pictures and posting them on facebook .

Posted in celebrity, focus, technology, copyright, web 2.0, corbis, slideshow, getty | Print | 3 Comments »

October 23, 2009 by pmelcher.

Getty Images’s decision to close it’s wholly-owned production division is a clear signal to the commercial stock industry that the market has shifted forever. If producing  images that correspond to a market demand without having to pay any commissions and licensing them via the biggest distribution channel worldwide is not profitable anymore, than nothing is. Producing market research wholly-owned content was to be the new El Dorado of the commercial stock photo industry. It is now a ghost town.

Coupled with the announcement from Jonathan Klein that Istock has made $850,000 in sales in one day, then it  all becomes very clear. Even after paying commission, Istock, and thus microstock, is more profitable than traditional stock. No production fees, no market research, no  high end editing and post production generates more hard cash than all the talent of the world combined. If I had a traditional RM or RF operation right now, I would be very, very worried. If not desperate.

There not even a comfortable exit strategy for thousand of RM and RF companies worldwide. It is doubtful that any will be purchased anymore and its even too late to dump all their production into microstock. Even that is getting heavily saturated.

Getty also has a huge advantage by being able to safely mine both Istock and Flickr for new content for its traditional RM and RF offering at almost no cost. While anyone could source Flickr, no one has the time nor manpower.

From a recent internal memo released by John Harrington, Getty Images will also heavily invest in on-line automated sales in the upcoming years, taking a cue from Istock and trimming down on its operational cost. It is obvious that if RM and RF sales are going to decline both in volume and in price, it will be too expensive to have a full size sales force.

Once again here, smaller operation will not have that opportunity. They already function at minimum staff and have no room for downsizing with also losing revenue. They certainly do not have the extra cash to invest in automated sales.

From the same memo, we were told that Getty has made no overall revenue growth in 2008 and 2009 doesn’t look much better. Probably mostly because the fall in traditional RM sales was not compensated by Istock 35% growth. That is a huge statement, isn’t it ?

As for Corbis, they seem to continue their cutting cost approach to profitability. Every year now, for as far as the memory goes back, this has been their time to hit the headlines with another round of layoff. This year, London was apparently the most hit. Still no sign of profitability for the (very rich)  ugly duckling of the commercial stock industry. But as long as they are having fun, right ?

The recent melding of minds at the PACA conference in Miami should have been a funeral announcement. Most talks were oriented at escaping the commercial stock market for the hopefully more lucrative commercial footage. However, it’s more like choosing which cliff to jump from.

Finally, for those who really want to understand the current state of the industry, they HAVE to read Allen Murabayashi entry on the Photoshelter blog, it’s brilliant and right to the point.

Posted in flickr, license, commercial stock, PACA, finance, Royalty free, getty, corbis, Microstock | Print | 3 Comments »

October 20, 2009 by pmelcher.

Commercial stock photography has been walking on its head. Since its beginning, it has approached its own business space with an upside down approach.

Let me explain : At the beginning, Photographers would shoot images that ended up on  online storage system with the hope that one day there will be a demand for these images. As the number-crushing corpocrates invaded this business, past sales report became the investigative tool to predict demand. The principal is quite simple : If someone, somewhere, licensed an image then someone else, somewhere else, surely needed the same one. To predict future demand, some even hired “experts” to perform field research on trends and gather market intelligence. The result ? a quite imperfect method of prediction investigation that currently results in a very imprecise production.

Enters a company called Demand Media. Self titled “The leader in social media”, the company is a huge automated content analyst and producer.  Using a combination of sophisticated algorithms and millions of Google search entries, it delivers what keywords, or group of keywords, are, or will be, the most frequently entered. It then spits out a list of topics that it posts on freelancing websites where anyone can produce the desired results in exchange for a few dollars. It then takes the newly created content, posts it on You Tube ( They only deal with video for the time being) and sells the space to advertisers. Videographers get paid a flat fee of about $20 per video.

Since their algorithm predicts the popularity of a search query, they can guarantee a substantial level of traffic to their advertiser clients. It is working so well that Google (owner of You Tube) has signed a deal with them, too happy to finally find a way to monetize their video hosting site. The videos are mostly self-help, DIY ( Do It Yourself) and tips.

Demand Media, according to Wired magazine, posts about 4,000 new videos a day thanks to a worldwide army of freelancers pumping thousand of clips, or articles, based on what an emotionless algorithm spits out everyday. ” This year, the privately held Demand is expected to bring in about $200 million in revenue; its most recent round of financing by blue-chip investors valued the company at $1 billion.” continues Wired Magazine.

It is an industrial use of the “database of intention“. The database of intention, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is what Google made a fortune upon. It is all these search queries that are entered on Google.com every second that explicitly shows what people are looking for. While Google monetized upon it by selling ads linked to the query, Demand Media is making its income by producing content.

So what about stock photogrpahy ? Well, that is the next step for Demand Media. Already producing clips and article by the pound, they are now going to enter the photography space. Not by offering images that maybe someone somewhere might be looking for but actual response to real searches. Thus putting the industry back on its feet. Sure, the first steps will be to produce images to look at, and not to license. But it will not be long before someone ( Istock photo anyone?) will realize the huge potential of this image database and license its content. Imagine, a photo library entirely made of images that people are actually looking for. That would be a first.

The ramification of this game changer are enormous for the stock market. First, it will attract a lot of microstockers who will prefer to be paid on the shoot rather than a commission on sale. Some will actually make much more revenue than they currently do on current sites. The clientele of these microstock sites might completely shift away and use the Demand Media database since they will be sure to find what they are looking for. Finally, traditional Stock agency will finally be overwhelmed with a Ford like approach to their trade.

Demand Media has a lot of cash in its bank and a novel approach to the Stock Photography industry, cutting cost to a minimum while increasing productivity. It’s what Getty images or Corbis should have done if they had been smart, instead of wasting there time and money on “artists”. Might be too late for both. It is certainly too late for the traditional industry.

Full article on Demand Media here in Wired Magazine.

Posted in web 2.0, Midstock, technology, commercial stock, prosumer, finance, Royalty free, getty, corbis, transaction, Microstock | Print | 1 Comment »

September 23, 2009 by pmelcher.

While the industry is  going through its most radical change of its small and short existence, it seems that everyone is caught standing and staring at the incoming headlights. Many violent issues are affecting the way business is done today, with possible long lasting repercussions, yet it seems that all are taking cover under a “business as usual” blanket.

Google Book: The DOJ has just concluded that the current agreement is not fair. This would be a good time for the photo industry to jump in and make its voice heard. why ? Because scanning books and offering them under a digital format requires a new license for the images and Google is not offering to compensate anyone for those. They are offering to compensate the authors of the books, however. Furthermore, the images thus scanned and available on line might become another source of orphan work and a playing ground for those looking for “free” images. The biggest providers of images to Book publishers ( think Corbis or Getty) have remained very, very quiet on this. Are they making their own deals ? But the real scandal here is the complete silence and lack of action from those associations who claim to represent the industry. PACA, ASPP, ASMP, APA and so on have not taken one step to seriously address the issue and only recently a single lonely voice coming from Europe has dared to express their concern (CEPIC) . It is not going to be enough.

Metadata: At a pivotal time where more images are being used online than on print, there is still no agreement between the photo industry and publishers on how to carry and protect metadata. You would think, since it’s their livelihood, that the photo industry would have spearheaded an effort to make sure information would travel, and stay, in each and every image published online. No. Nothing. Images can and will be published online with absolutely no credit outside or inside the image. Actually, software companies like Adobe, will gladly help strip any information inside an image, even when it’s a clear violation of the DMCA.  There used to be an agreement, sometimes still in practice, in the editorial world that when an  image was  miscredited or not credited at all it would be billed at twice the amount. Out of respect for the creator. Guess that will not going to survive.

Pricing: The latest quote I have heard was $5 for editorial usage on a website own by one of the biggest publisher in the world. The funny part was that the photo editor quoting me this price was amused that someone had actually agreed to this. Photo agencies, these days, are their worst enemies. They even get scared of themselves when they see a mirror. Everyone agrees worldwide that the future of editorial, and commercial photography, is online. Most form of print magazine will die in the next five years and be replaced by an online equivalent. Yet, everyone charges pennies for licensing rights . How will that ever replace the print magazine market as a source of income? It baffles me and any four year old with a calculator.

” Why did you go out of business ?”

” Me ? O well , for the price I was licensing my images, I couldn’t pay my bills”

“Mmm…brilliant !! What are you going to do now ?”

” I don’t know, maybe hit my head against a wall real hard. That sounds like fun too”

Getty and Corbis: One is using and abusing its dominance on the market to use and abuse photographers, and the other is playing unfair competition.  Yet, it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. I was recently having lunch with a commercial photographer from the New England area who mostly shoots travel and pharmaceutical images and who has a distribution contract with the oil company legacy company. He was proud to announce that he regularly sees, on his sales report, images licensed  to big companies, at $3. When asked why he accepted those prices, he said ” its better than nothing”. Needless to add that his overall revenue, from the same distributor, has dropped 40 to 60% in the last year. After taxes, those $3 images probably leaves him with a few bucks. I would not get out of bed for two bucks. Not only that, but Getty also pressures, threatens, blackmail and abuse contributing photographers on a permanent basis. Yet, no one seems to voice their concern. If that is not a monopolistic attitude, I wonder what is ? Next to them sits Corbis. Now, how many industries have a company that has not made a profit since their creation , 15 years ago ? How is that fair competition ? If Bill Gates likes loosing money so much, why doesn’t he open a car company ? Or bail out a few banks ? Why does the photo industry have to deal with a company that does not obey to the most simple and basic rules of business ? Sure, they are not a monopoly, although they could, but they are certainly unfair competition.

Trade Associations: Someone has to explain why the photo trade associations are so useless. Not one has any usefulness and all should be referred as clubhouses instead of associations. They do nothing to represent or defend their members. They mostly act as social organizers, as if nothing of importance was happening in our industry. Not one has a lawyer in Washington DC to help promote and defend our trade. Instead, they act as conduits for manufacturers and service companies, while receiving nice juicy kickbacks for their executive members.

It will not be long for us to see more closing, bankruptcy and  maybe a Ponzi scheme or two. It is not a surprise. As long as those who work in this trade think silence and apathy are the best tools to increase business, nothing will change.

“Brave Clarice. You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won’t you? ” _ Hannibal Lecter_

Posted in license, Search, newspaper, copyright, magazine, commercial stock, technology, google, web 2.0, editorial, law, corbis, transaction, finance, CEPIC, PACA, getty | Print | No Comments »

September 18, 2009 by pmelcher.

42 years is a lifetime. When these 42 years are made of excellence, passion, relentlessness commitment, inspiration, painful devotion, genius and unconditional dedication, it becomes a legend.

Grazia Neri was not a business, it was an act of love, a huge warm embrace around the thousands of beloved and cherished photographers worldwide they represented. It was not a business, but a welcoming family for all those who had talent. Not just the photogrpahers, but the amazing staff that has populated their marvelous Milan offices.

Grazia Neri herself  did so much to promote photography, not only in Italy, but worldwide, that her legacy is hard, if not impossible, to fully described. She, along with her company, has mentored, supported, elevate so many great talented photographers that the world would not be the same if both had not been around.

The closing of Grazia Neri is a tragedy for the photography world and the consequences will be felt for many, many years to come. There will never be another Grazia Neri.

But let’s not be fooled. It is not just the economy that has taken a final blow to this passion. It is those Seattle Starbucks Latte induced, black turtle neck wearing  corporcrates that have plunge their lethal knives in its back. By spreading their abominable  subscription-all-you-can-eat-buffet type pricing model all over the world like a black plague, they have made it impossible for the artists, the bohemians, to pursue their passion in peace.

They have entered this profession with the clear and declared intent to suck it dry and clean, regardless of the consequences, and their poisoning ethics are now suffocating anything that tries to live by their side.  The Grazia Neri photo agency has been murdered, with intend.

Hopefully this is not the last. We will soon hear from those who have nurtured this company with unconditional passion. Photography, and the people that work within this field, are extremely resilient. Because it’s an act of love, an addiction, it keeps on resurfacing, under different names, different organizations. Certainly, Grazi Neri, the mother of amazing photojournalism, will give birth to many, many children, more adapted to its vicious environment and continue to live, and thrive in other people eyes and lives. Certainly they will keep the legacy alive and continue to promote, against all costs and odds, unrestrained photojournalism.

Certainly, a business is dying. Certainly, this a tragedy. Certainly, we all have lost our most cherish family member. But as certainly, this not an end.

Today, all the images published in all the magazines in the world should be credited “   /Grazia Neri”. That is how much we owe them.

Posted in license, magazine, technology, photojournalism, transaction, corbis, news, editorial, getty | Print | 1 Comment »

August 3, 2009 by pmelcher.

A 60 % drop in pricing. That is, the prices have fallen 60% from where they were last year. The reason ? magazines, that either borrowed heavily or relied too much on advertising, crashed. The country : Spain.

Sometimes, it is important to pay attention to what is going on in other countries to have an idea of what can or could happen in your own. After all, the market is global, isn’t it? And photography  is certainly one of these products that exports really well.

Spain, for those who might not know is based in Southern part of western Europe, just south of France and next to Portugal. It is populated by some of the nicest and agreeable people on the planet and was, just until recently, referred as one of the fastest growing economy. Not so much anymore.

What happened ? Well, like with anywhere else, it go really hit hard by the collapse of the world economy. Many Magazines that use to pay top dollars, sorry, Euros, for images, shut down. Completely. The survivors, in a desperate effort to protect themselves, cut costs dramatically. Photography was hit hard.

So what did the photo agencies do ?  They followed. Not only did they accepted the dramatic licensing fees cuts, but in a desperate effort to keep revenue and market share, they increased their offering. The idea was that more sales would compensate for the pricing fall out. So they inundated the market with more images of lesser quality, thus accelerating the pricing debacle. First and foremost, Getty Images and Corbis led the parade : Keep market share at all cost, including lowering their prices dramatically.

Average price per image ( editorial) fell from 110 Euros to 50, if not lower. The increase in volume also impacted workflows, whereby photo  agencies can not even process all the images they receive, especially since they also had to cut down in manpower. Seems like a panic situation.

Some photo agencies have shut down while others are merging in a final attempt to survive. However, merging is hard enough for big corporations, just imagine when its two or three family -owned businesses. Emotions must be running high.

Other countries are our neighborhoods and what affects them will affect us. No one is immune from  a crash and it is no longer enough to say that  it will never be business as usual. Lessons have to quickly be learned.

Posted in celebrity, magazine, technology, license, transaction, corbis, editorial, getty | Print | No Comments »