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Education: How The Market Has Changed

The business of producing and supplying images to textbook publishers for educational use has changed dramatically. Over the last couple years we have published a series of stories that have examined various aspects of these changes. The stories listed below will help image producers understand how the changes may affect them and what may be necessary in order to adapt to the new realities of this market.

Foreign Rogue Sites That Infringe Copyright Shut Down By Publisher Alliance

An international alliance of publishers including seven member companies of the Association of American Publishers, with support from AAP and other international trade associations, has identified and taken legal action against operators of one of the largest pirate web-based businesses in the world.

Alamy Signs Global Distribution Deal With ZUMA Press

ZUMA Press, the California-based news agency is now supplying Alamy's live news feed with images from its global network of 3,000 photojournalists. Owned and run by renowned photojournalist Scott Mc Kiernan, ZUMA has also made its back catalogue available online through Alamy’s

New Recommendations For Dealing With Educational Use Requests

The Editorial Relations Committee of PACA (Picture Archive Council of America) has released updated suggestions for dealing with educational publishers. Digital technology is rapidly changing the way educational materials are being developed and used. During this transition period image licensors need to be particularly vigilant if they hope to receive reasonable compensation for the long range use of their imagery.

Microstock Sales: What Percent Are GD And Illustration?

One thing that has intrigued me about the microstock business is the role designers and illustrators play as content creators and how their participation on the seller side of the market influences imagery supply and demand. Shutterstock recently reported that in 2011 32% of the company’s total downloads were vector illustrations and that in the last 5 years customers have trended to move away from using photographs to illustrate certain concepts and toward the use of very graphic illustrations.

Microstock Group 2011 Industry Survey Results

Microstock Group has published the preliminary results of its 2011 survey of microstock contributors. So far more that 700 people have responded, but there is still time for anyone involved in microstock to add additional information before the final results are tallied.

Corbis Images Launches OnDemand: Entertainment Subscriptions

Corbis Images has launched OnDemand: Entertainment, a flexible entertainment subscription service. The entertainment subscriptions provide customers with exclusive access to the industry’s most comprehensive collection of breaking entertainment and iconic celebrity imagery. The service will be available to customers worldwide searching for compelling creative content to showcase their celebrity and entertainment related news.

Opportunity For Photography Students

Since September 2011 photography and illustration students have submitted more than 3,000 images to Alamy, the world's largest online stock photography agency. For the next two years these contributors will receive 100% of all money collected for the licensing of their images.

Microstock Trends -- February 2012

This article provides a selection of stories that will help the reader better understand microstock photography and the state of the market for images at microstock prices at the beginning of 2012. Some of the stories in this list were written as much as two years ago, but provide background on the subject.

Crestock Offers Celebrity Photos For Editorial Use

Crestock has launched a collection of celebrity photos at microstock prices at http://www.crestock.com/celebrities/. The collection contains real time coverage of popular stars from coast to coast supplied by top entertainment photographers, supplemented with an archive of past celebrity events – all from ImageCollect/Los Angeles.

iStockphotos Offers Free Valentine eCards On Facebook

iStockphoto has announced a new app that lets anyone create fast, fun and free e-cards for use on Facebook. Customer surveys have revealed that e-cards have become more acceptable and often preferred to traditional cards.

Corbis and AP Launch “Perceptions”: New Marketing Strategy

Corbis Images (www.corbisimages.com) and The Associated Press (www.ap.org) are rolling out a monthlong social media photo showcase called “Perceptions.” The showcase on Facebook seeks commentary from people who view selected images from the cross-distribution collaboration between the two companies announced in January.

Leasing Photos For Product Uses

Ninety percent of new products fail for a variety of reasons. When photographs are an inherent part of the product it is often difficult to decide what to charge for the use. When a product is first being designed and launched it is impossible to determine how successful it will be. Often product developers are under funded. Here's an explanation of how leasing rather than a one-time licensing fee may be the answer to making the sale.

ImageState To Close – Again!

Imagestate Media Ltd and Imagestate Media Partners Ltd has ceased trading through its website and as of February 1, 2012 has entered Administration. The assets of the above companies have been acquired by a new investor. The ongoing business of Imagestate will be managed by Impact Photos. Heritage Images will operate separately.

Copyright: An Idea vs A Visual Representation Of The Idea

In the U.S. it is possible to copyright a specific visual representation of a concept, not the concept itself. In what may be a precedent setting decision in the Patents County Court in London His honour Judge Birss QC has decided that a concept, or visual technique can also be copyrighted.