StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

Facebook Really Goes IPO

• Facebook Files for an I.P.O. (NYT)

• Facebook IPO Filing, by the Numbers (WSJ)

• Facebook Files For $5 Billion IPO (TC)

QuickLinks For 2012-01-30

• Getty Images Music Launches GUESTLIST At Midem:
  "The company currently licenses more than 200,000 tracks per year across film, television, movie trailers, commercials and multimedia projects globally."
  Press release ⎪ Getty Images Music ⎪ midem.

Facebook Goes IPO

Baseline (and a view what happens outside of this picture business):

• Revenues from ads only:
  • $3.8bn (est.)
• Offering:
  • $10bn
• Valuation:
  • $75bn - $100bn

Source: WSJ, Facebook Readies IPO Filing

Related (from Bloomberg):

• Facebook 2010 Sales Said Likely to Reach $2 Billion (Dec.16, 2010)
• Facebook Revenue Will Reach $4.27 Billion, EMarketer Says (Sept. 20, 2011)

QuickLinks For 2012-01-19

• Just extended:
  The 50 Free Stock Media promotion from Pond5 is now running until Jan. 31th.

• Jobs shed as Getty Images absorbs iStockphoto:
  Getty Images has confirmed to BJP that 30 employees have been made redundant at iStockphoto. "We are completing the process of full functional integration across the two brands," says Getty Images' CEO Jonathan Klein. "Nonetheless, Getty Images remains committed to the vitality of the iStockphoto brand."
  The layoffs comes just a few days after Kelly Thompson announced that he was leaving Getty Images. Getty Images says: "Kelly has now decided that the time is right for him to leave the business to pursue other interests and we wish him the very best in all his future endeavours.
  Kelly's last day with the company will be January 20."
  BJP.
  Related:
  • Kelly Thompson, now SVP, PD@GI
    (Aug. 05, 2011)

• Fotolia’s new art-inspired stock photography collection:
  We’ve teamed up with deviantART to create a collection of amazing images.
  The collection features over 3,000 images, what’s even more unique, these images are exclusive to Fotolia, meaning that they are only available to Fotolia members.
  Images: The deviantART Collection on Fotolia. - More details.

Corbis Acquires NMA Group

• NYT, Corbis to Acquire NMA Group:

Corbis is expanding again by acquiring the NMA Group in LA, a pioneer in the realm of branded entertainment, which helps marketers weave products into the plots of movies and television shows. “This will greatly expand our ability to offer advertisers ways to more closely affiliate with branded entertainment,” said Gary Shenk.

NMA will operate as an autonomous unit of the entertainment division of Corbis. Mark Owens, president at NMA, will lead the division, which also includes GreenLight, the Corbis licensing consultancy that represents deceased public figures.

Norm Marshall, who founded NMA in 1979, will remain chief executive. Mr. Marshall and Mr. Shenk said they could not discuss the financial terms of the deal. “Bill has a thing about not divulging financial stuff,” Mr. Marshall said, referring to Mr. Gates, adding that Mr. Shenk had told him, “ ‘Norm, if I do it, Bill will fire me.’ ”

[Update: here´s the press release]

QuickLinks For 2011-12-22

• France-Soir, death of a newspaper:
  "Its glory days were in the 1950s and 1960s, when it sold over 1 million copies per day. The paper's finest hour came in November 1970, when it sold 2 million copies.
  Its circulation had been declining for years. According to AFP, recent circulation was only a disappointing 30,000 copies per day" (France24.com), leading to "89 job losses" (Independent).

• Adapt to survive, a photographer's view of the market today:
  "We are in a period of transition. Although too much web content generates no income for its creators, new revenue streams are gradually establishing themselves. Some sites already bring in real money from advertising, or paywall subscriptions. News websites are beginning to commission or buy in photo stories in the form of multimedia pieces (still images and sound), or web documentaries (video, stills and sound, sometimes with interactive features)."
  Freelance photog Philip Wolmuth in the BBC News.

• "Stay hungry, stay foolish": have fun with your Holiday Shopping during the Christmas Season, meeting your family & old and new friends again.

Veer, Owned by Corbis, Closes Doors in Calgary

• Veer shutting down Calgary office:
  "Veer is closing its local office, eliminating about 80 jobs as the work is moved to Seattle.
  The branch will close by the end of the year, said Jennifer Morgan, Corbis' senior director of corporate communications, as the company centralizes its operations in Washington [Seattle].
  Founded by Brad Zumwalt, [he] couldn't be reached for [a] comment.
  Veer's Calgary presence has shrunk in recent years, from a reported 150 employees in 2007 to about 100 a year ago to the 80 affected by Corbis' relocation decision."
  Calgary Herald/Kim Guttormson.
  
  So no more future lunch questions like: "How are things on the other side of town?", like during the past years, long ago.

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

These Germans from Berlin ... .

Some time later we will be doing this with real RED devices:

 

 

 

Shutterstock Introduces Single Image Sales

"In certain markets" for $19.

Further details ("we are currently testing this product") here and here.

Countries (by regions), in which this offer is available, including the increase in revenues, starting with Q3/2011 and in percentages of 2010 revenues, after the jump.

 

 

QuickLinks For 2011-09-28

• From the ancient Greek´s Athens to modern Beijing, some rules never change, regardless if your sympathy sticks to the company formerly known as GYI, or indeed not:
  "A small tip that I use in practice is to have a meal with the candidate and observe their interactions with others, especially people in the service industry and people less fortunate than themselves".
  Still, so many questions remain.
  Amex OPEN Forums: 9 Questions: Jonathan Klein, Getty Images.

QuickLinks For 2011-09-23

• They still can´t stop punching Corbis:
  
  Michel Puech: "If I re-read Steve Davis’ 2001 press release, that someone sent to me as a joke, and I listen to what you said yesterday, I feel that it is the same speech."
  
  Gary Shenk: "I cannot comment on what Steve Davis said in 2001 because I was not at Corbis at the time. The only thing I can say now is that there is great opportunity for us today."
  
  La Lettre de la Photographie, interview with: "Gary Shenk, the Future of Corbis !"

QuickLinks For 2011-09-06

• A Long Way To Go:
  "It is our vision to be the world's most comprehensive source of content," Shenk said, adding that 'Demotix, with its ground-breaking business model ... provides breadth and depth Corbis couldn't do alone'."
  Demotix blog, Demotix and Corbis at Perpignan's Visa Pour l'Image.
  Related:
  • Corbis Invests In Demotix Following Global Distribution Agreement
    (Aug. 24, 2011)
  • Associated Press + Corbis Images: "Superior Alternative to Getty" (Gary Shenk)
    (Aug. 23, 2011)

Hey Man - Micro or Macro or Celeb or Whatever - We Are Already There (View In Safari)

Jonathan Klein on FT.com

This general interview gets a little more interesting towards the end.

Click on image below to play or view the video here.

 

 

Associated Press + Corbis Images: "Superior Alternative to Getty" (Gary Shenk)

• AP, Corbis Team Up In Bid To Profit From Pictures (AP/NPR):

Corbis, a privately held company based in Seattle, hasn't disclosed its finances since 2007 when it named Shenk as CEO in an effort to bring in more revenue from licensing rights. At that time, Corbis had about $250 million [actually $252 million] in annual revenue.

The AP's revenue last year totaled $630.5 million, a decline of $117 million, or 16 percent, from 2008. The Corbis deal marks the latest step in the AP's effort to recover some of the revenue that it lost in the past two years as it lowered its fees to help newspapers and broadcasters cope with downturns in their own businesses.

"Now the AP and Corbis are able to provide an alternative to Getty that we feel is superior" across every key category, Corbis CEO Gary Shenk said in an interview.

• Corbis, Associated Press strike photo-sharing partnership (TechFlash):

Shenk said that Corbis and the AP analyzed each other’s focus and realized that there was only about a 10 percent overlap [hard to believe] in each other’s customer base.

AP is strong in newspapers and broadcasting companies, as well as large news portals. Corbis is strong in the magazine segment, both online and print, as well as with advertising agencies and commercial and archival customers.

The AP partnership comes just weeks after Corbis bought Splash News [and the partnership from March between Corbis and ZUMA Press]. Shenk said Corbis was not making Splash News photos available to the AP at this time. Nor will AP get access to some of Corbis’s creative content that has mostly served the advertising market.

"The partnership is limited to the United States at the moment, starting in October", writes BJP additionally.

The quoted articles above are strongly condensed. More details in the press release.

Fotolia V3, Changes of Subscription Plans

In the light of the upcoming V3 of Fotolia´s website (and the competition) some major changes were announced:

1. There will be only *one* subscription plan left in the future, instead of the Standard (L size) and the Premium (XXL size) subscription. This is for many reasons very interesting, the Premium subscription was alive little over 2 years.
   Changes with respect to contributor commissions below (without absolute re-/progressive values between percentage differences):
   
   
   
   
   
2. Videos in HD will no longer be offered in the subscription plan (like earlier in the Premium subscription), "but web resolution vids are available", in M size, counting now as five downloads.
   HD vids need to be acquired separately in the future, as single downloads.
   
   
3. Vectors, counting earlier as 3 DL, are counting now as 1 DL, and commissions for contributors were cut way stronger than for images, being in RPD now equal to images. Do your own math.
   
   
4. Further Details on Image Pricing, Vector Pricing and Video Pricing.

 

Related:

• Contributor Royalty Changes@Fotolia (Jan. 21, 2011)
• Fotolia launches Premium Subscription (July 07, 2009)
• New Fotolia Microstock Subscription (May 31, 2008); Act II; Act III.

 

+++ Woo Yay +++ Alamy´s CEO James West: "We Can Cannibalize Microstock" +++ Later Water Will Flow Uphill +++ Woody Allen New President Of Tea Party +++

Someone needs to call Wall Street. Quickly.

Someone else needs also to upgrade Excel from version 1998 to version 2011.

Irresponsibly I missed last week´s new episode of the Ray William Johnson show on its new second transmission channel, the Alamy Discussion Forum.

In this post from last week (earlier similar here) Alamy explains their statement on the new Alamy Premium Account and writes "We can cannibalise microstock market share at a much higher price point". I won´t go into more details, the use of images in advertisement (Microstock) or not (Alamy Premium), virtually unlimited usage, etc. - I just don´t believe in the basic principles of this opinion, hardly based on serious calculations.

Alamy refused to publish further Quarterly Statements after their final public Q4/2009 Statement in early 2010, and that´s not because their revenues went through the roof. "Cannbalise": Alamy used to generate roughly 1/30 in yearly revenues of what the total microstock industry generates in revenues per year. Ray William Johnson can´t compete with that.

(Image)

Kelly Thompson, now SVP, PD@GI

"I'm excited to share that starting in September, I'll be taking the next step in my journey--but I'm not going too far. I will be moving to New York to take on a new role as Senior Vice President, Product Development for Getty Images. I will be relocating to Manhattan.

My current duties related to the day-to-day operation of iStock will be performed by Rebecca Rockafellar, who will move into the role of General Manager of iStock as well as retain her current role as Senior Vice President of Ecommerce at Getty Images."

More.

 

 

"Hi Rebecca. So what is your position on ... Ok, you get a few days to get to know us  ."

(Sean Locke)

 

No one left from The Fabulous Four: BL, PL, GJ, KT - all gone.

 

Related:

• iStockphoto: COO Kelly Thompson Projects $200 million in Revenues, Microstock Agency launches Vetta Collection
  (June 24, 2009)

Getty To Sell WireImage To Reuters?

• Getty Images could sell WireImage to Reuters for more than $300M:
  One insider tells us that the deal makes sense - on paper, at least - because Reuters has no "entertainment" photography division, which has become a "major part of moneymaking" in photojournalism.
  According to our source, if Getty can sell WireImage for "north of $300 \[million\], it won't matter " that Reuters could become a potential competitor in the entertainment photography market.
  Our insider says that if the two sides see eye to eye - or lens to lens? - the sale of WireImage could be announced in the next two weeks.
  NYDailyNews/Gossip Department.

Corbis Images Acquires Splash News, Part II

• Part I and now Corbis buys LA firm that specializes in celebrity photos:
  "The content almost sells itself," said Corbis CEO Gary Shenk. "I think demand for entertainment photography is insatiable on a global basis, particularly for celebrities."
  Corbis has shrunk from more than 1,000 to 660 employees in five years, Shenk said.
  Buying Splash puts Corbis in a growth market with the widest base of photographers taking candid pictures of celebrities, Shenk said.
  But:
  "In 2007, it bought a company called Veer that handles content from amateur photographers", etc. -Sure thing.
  (Abbreviated) Melissa Alisson/The Seattle Times, Business and Technology
  This deal follows the partnership from March between Corbis and ZUMA Press.

Cinemagraphs: Not Quite Videos, Not Quite Photos

Washington Post: What It Looks Like When A Photo Moves.
Great idea. More work from Jamie Beck + Kevin Burg on From Me to You. (More)

 

"We've already taken Berlin, let's take Manhattan!"

This Galaxy, Planet Earth, a little to the right, Latitude 40° 42' 51N, Longitude 74° 0' 22W, then a soft turn to the left, Latitude 51° 4' 60N, Longitude 114° 4' 60W .
 

July 6th/7th: Are you iStuck?: "Check out our first ad, now running in some of the best design magazines in the world. We’ll be adding more of these ads" (Bigstock blog).

July 8th: We've already taken Berlin, let's take Manhattan!

(Whatever your particular brand of Vodka is, Joe Cocker supersedes Leonhard Cohen).

(Screenshots below =>)

 

QuickLinks For 2011-07-12

• 2010 Photographer Social Media Survey:
  Takes 10-15 minutes of your time.
  Survey created by Jim M. Goldstein (G+) together with Miki Johnson (G+) - she was formerly with American Photo.
  Data from this survey will be compiled and shared later this summer here.
  Now good-bye blog again and back to G+ during summer.
  A mean survey question: how many time on average do you spend on social media?  :-(

Google+ For Marketing, PR, BizDev, Microstock Google+ Replacing Blogs (Some Early Mixed Thoughts)

A few hours ago Kevin Rose came up with the idea of simply forwarding his blog to his new Google+ account.

 

Kevin Rose is not anyone, he is the co-founder of Digg, and he only received a few hundreds comments and shares for this sentence.

Shutterstock Preparing To Go Public In 2012? Tim Bixby Joins Shutterstock As New CFO

Does anyone remember a company called Jupiterimages, owned by Jupitermedia, and their conference calls in previous years? Does anyone remember the conference calls with Jonathan Klein of Getty Images in all those years?

All gone, good-bye and Farewell, My Lovely.

But maybe instead we´ll soon have some real Microstock Conference Calls. Why?

Following the departure of Adam Riggs in his function as President and CFO of Shutterstock, Thilo Semmelbauer became new President of the microstock agency, and now another hire on executive level could indicate that Shutterstock might go public anytime soon: