Time for Start-Ups again! After the new UK-based Photo Agency TheImageFile ("Groundbreaking new image library to take on Gates and Getty empires" [btw: big words!] and here), new US-based Photo Agency UpperCut Images (and here) the next Newcomer is the scottish Photo Agency Pure Images with a strong emphasis on "Looking for more realistic images from photographers across Britain? Looking for stock photos that depict the variety of British life?". The SundayHerald/Steven Vass writes in "Scottish photography library targets US giants" (This sounds pretty like the 1999 party -- founded just yesterday in the evening, the next morning a serious competitor to Getty and Corbis):
Scott Davidson, co-founder of Pure Images, said: “We are trying to bridge what we see as being a gap in supplying photography between small specialist libraries and extremely large websites like Getty and Corbis.”
[...]
Although there are British libraries, such as Alamy, that already offer this kind of service, Pure Images is the first in Scotland.
Scott Davidson and his brother Darryl have been building up their stock data base since last November, when they received a loan and a year’s free office space in Denny, near Falkirk, as a runner-up prize for an enterprise competition held by Falkirk Enterprise Action Trust.
Although Scott Davidson says the company still needs a much larger database of images, they now have enough to start targeting customers. The company is gearing up for a marketing blitz on the creative industries to officially launch the site next month, and will be offering generous discounts for the first four weeks.
Pure Images hopes to grow quickly by offering 70% of the licence price to photographers – which Scott Davidson said is higher than competitors’ rates. “There’s quite a variation with competitors. Our rate is on the generous side.
“Percentages paid to photographers by different libraries go down to 40%. Most photographers seem to think 70% is pretty attractive,” said Davidson, adding that photo graphers also get access to how their images are performing.
[...]
As well as the enterprise loan, the company is being funded by the Davidsons’ existing web-design company, Oldhand Media [Link], which they hope to wind down if Pure Images takes off.
Looking back in the history of some stock photo agencies, we had the 90% cut, the 80% cut ... all gone and blown away. Now 70%. And the question remains: Will it work? There had been various posts in the Editorialphoto and Stockphoto Yahoo email groups in the last weeks, so for further informations try the search buttons there.
[Update August 10] Another company in this field who recently received funding is World Picture News ("World Picture News Gets Funding, Ramps Up Operations"): "Focused primarily on photojournalism news and features...the agency will make its first official presence at the Visa pour l'Image photo- journalism festival the following week."
One of the few examples that VC is back in business ("Having acquired several million dollars in investment capital in June", PDN), however not at seed stage ("the agency made sales "in the neighborhood" of $1.1 in 2003", PDN).
[© Image around here]
