About a week ago, Unsplash announced that they had raised $7.25 million, along with plans to bring cryptocurrency to its free stock photo service. While most see their move as a potential Shutterstock killer, Unsplash could end up becoming a potent competitor to Instagram, Pinterest, and Snap as they share more DNA. A short review of the hard numbers … Read More →
Word on the street was that if Getty sneezed, the industry was sick. But what about Shutterstock? Has it taken a dominant enough position in the marketplace to become the health barometer of stock photography? Is this week’s quarterly report, covering a less than stellar quarter along with a less optimistic forecast, a sign of a general slowdown … Read More →
At a recent DMLA panel I organized, Craig Peters, COO of Getty Images, pointed out that the vast majority of image consumption happens in places where images are not licensed. Which is true: People spend more time on various social media sites than anywhere else. Just Snapchat ( 8,796 photos shared per second), Whatsapp (8,102 Photos … Read More →
For most of the 80’s and throughout the early 2000’s, the recurring motto in the stock photo industry was “It’s the content, idiot”. Key to any growth of photo agencies and successful career of any photographer was the ability to offer great content. Rule number one was to appeal to clients and crush the competition by creating upscale, high … Read More →
Confusion and mixed messages are creating a worried atmosphere in the world of Splash News contributors. First, the news broke that Silverhub Media signed a worldwide and exclusive distribution deal with Shutterstock. The news made no sense, SilverHub having little to no content of value for the microstock giant until it was announced not long after … Read More →
An Interview with Ulf Schmidt-Funke by Stefan Hartmann for PICTORIAL Magazin 04/2016. It was – actually – a discussion about an entirely different topic. But Ulf Schmidt-Funke was just about to travel to the USA, where he planned to meet with major market players – including Reuters, New York Times and Shutterstock – on behalf … Read More →
Rumors have been rampant for a while. First Shutterstock was believed to be the buyer, a rumor quickly killed by no other than Jon Oringer himself during their last quarterly report. At the last DMLA conference, the target moved to China Visual Group and remained there. It is confirmed today: LOS ANGELES & BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Corbis … Read More →
I was recently invited to speak at B&H Photo Video . Here is the resulting podcast: “Anyone, I mean, anyone can submit their photos for sale in the stock-photography market. (Are you a foaper?) But the question remains: is it worth it? No doubt, the industry has been transformed by corporate conglomeration and digital technology but, while … Read More →
Public photo industry surveys are so rare and few that it is always a refreshing exercise to review one when they do come out. VisualSteam just released the 2015 edition of its Art Buyer Survey and it surfaces some interesting trends. Leslie Hughes, VisualSteam’s President and CEO, said, “Art Buyers are frustrated by stock agencies … Read More →
You wouldn’t think about it this way, but Wall Street tends to be highly emotional and jittery when it comes to stock photo licensing. When companies with voracious growths – anything above 30%- show any signs of slowing down, it starts running for cover. The reason is very simple: the stock only sought after characteristic from … Read More →