StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

QuickLinks For 2007-02-28, II

• Stock Image Market Sizing 2007, with projections for RF and RM:
  Because the stock image industry is extremely fractured and dominated by small and mid-sized, privately owned companies, creating accurate estimates is extremely difficult. The Industry Measure has an advantage in that, instead of starting with the stock image companies, it can take advantage of its yearly and twice yearly mail surveys of these four key marketplaces to ask the purchasers of stock images themselves
  The Industry Measure, study available for $995/82 p., only $12.13 per page. (LO)
  Tag: Stock photo industry

QuickLinks For 2007-02-28

• Market's Swoon Presents Buying Opportunities Aplenty:
  Getty Images' stock imagery business generates loads of excess cash for its shareholders. Increasing competition at the lower end of the market has presented new challenges, however. We think Getty's moat is wide enough to withstand these new pressures, allowing the company to continue to generate excess returns for many more years, albeit with a slower growth rate than the company has enjoyed in the past. And, of yeah, the stock looks like a veritable bargain following today's decline, which shaved more than 3% off its price.
  Mornigstar.com/Yahoo Finance.
  Tag: Getty Images

"I just can't get enough": After Acquiring The Michael Ochs Archives, Depeche Mode Dedicates Song Generously To Getty Images

And while I´m admittedly tired to write constantly about which next new photo bank was acquired by Getty Images or not, the stock house is out with a new announcement that is has bought The Michael Ochs Archives with "over 2 million of the worlds most important, rare, iconic and never seen before photos from the music and entertainment industry", "arguably the best of its kind in the world" and a nice addition to the Hulton Archive.

QuickLinks For 2007-02-27

• Tom Hughes, co-founder of Photodisc, joins start-up Imagekind as investor. Imagekind is a competitor to Art.com and lets photographers "upload their artwork for sale, and gives them the freedom to sell it at whatever price they want". All  details here.
  Related:
  •Imagekind, the Web site for artists and photographers, raises cash (VentureBeat)
  •Imagekind Secures $2.56 million In First Round Financing (paidContent)
  Tag: Imagekind

QuickLinks For 2007-02-26

• Getty Buys Wireimage, an Analysis:
  There was talk of Wireimage filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Was that the motivation for Wireimage to finally sell out to their rival? And if Wireimage was doing so well in the business why would they sell? The Wireimage photo credit and its sister service, Film Magic, dominate magazines. The only problem is that doesn't mean you are making money. Wireimage had a very high overhead. [...]
  Wireimage was known to gain market share by heavily discounting the price of photos. You have to sell a lot of photos at discount prices to recoup the high overhead. All in a time period where publications are retrenching, not expanding.
  Francis Specker, On: Location.
  Tags: MediaVast WireImage Getty Images

QuickLinks For 2007-02-25

• Zachery Kouwe, the stock photo industry´s first secret service employee and author of the original New York Post article last week in which he unveiled "Getty is Eyeing 'net Rival" is out with a follow-up in "Jupiter merger in Getty´s Orbit":
  Meckler owns 35 percent of Jupitermedia´s outstanding stock and essentially controls the outcome of any shareholder vote. [...]
  Jupitermedia has formed a special committee of independent board members - John Patrick, Michael Davies and Gilbert Bach - to evaluate Getty´s offer. The special committee has also retained Merrill Lynch and law firm Cooley Godward & Kronish to help them with negotiations.
  Several investors in Jupiter said it was unusual for a company to publish a specific price without having a deal done. "It looks like this could be an opening bid," said one analyst. Some investors speculated that Getty rival Corbis could emerge as a rival bidder for Jupitermedia now that confidential talks have been disclosed.
  New York Post.
  Tags: Getty Images

Gawker Media´s Consumerist Steals Again Photos, Now From Getty Images

This time not from Flickr, like they did ten days ago and publicly admitted the theft through Consumerist´s editor Ben Popken.

Instead they steal now a watermark protected image from Getty Images for a story on CompUSA, written again by mastermind Ben Popken. Thanks John for the hint, but I somehow don´t buy that "Getty opts not to pursue the infringement, because it's a free ad on a really popular site whereby their name appears prominently".

Related:

• Gawker Media: Consumerist´s Editor Ben Popken Admits Publicly to Steal Photos From Flickr´s Photographers (Feb. 16, 2007)

QuickLinks For 2007-02-24, II

• Getty gets notice of debt default:
  Getty Images said Friday it received a notice that it has defaulted on its $265 million of 0.50 percent convertible subordinated debentures series B due 2023. As a result of the notice, the trustee or holders of at least 25 percent of the outstanding debt can declare all unpaid principal and accrued interest to be immediately due. Getty said that if the debentures are called in, it will be able to pay any unpaid principal and interest that would be due.
  Getty shares fell $1.10, or 2 percent, to $54.26 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
  BusinessWeek/Associated Press.
  For more related links and stories, click continue.
  Tag: Getty Images

QuickLinks For 2007-02-24

• Getty Images Shares Pull Back:
  Wall Street began considering the downside of Getty Images´s purchase of MediaVast and its talks to buy Jupitermedia. "We view this deal as a strategic positive for Getty", Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Christa Quarles said. But the Jupitermedia purchase could make the stock more volatile over the next few quarters.
  Citigroup analyst Matthew Troy also saw risks for Getty. He said the company is spending about $540 million on the buyouts, exhausting its cash supply and taking on debt. Getty acknowledged the purchases will not make money until 2008.
  Forbes/Associated Press.
  Tags: Getty Images MediaVast Jupiterimages Jupitermedia

Letters from Italy with Pino Granata´s Ceterum censeo: The Stars Look Down

 

What is happening right now in our editorial and stock photo industry is unbelievable.

Getty Images is buying everything and now anybody can observe that we are under a monopoly regime.

What we do in these days is gossip. We talk of Getty Images, Corbis, acquisitions, stock market trends, but we dont talk about photographers and photography anymore.

 

QuickLinks For 2007-02-23, II

• Recreative and unagitated stories for the day after yesterday´s fast-paced Black Thursday and for the coming weekend.
  MacTribe is out with a calm report entitled "Ch-Ch-Changes", no, not again another demonstration of the muscles and the sportive training program of Klein´s GYI, but a report on Tom and his daughter Jamie Grill, the latter running Jamie Grill Photography:
  Tom Grill, owner of Tom Grill Images and Tetra Images, has been called everything from the father of stock photography to the sage and guru of the industry. There’s a Darwinian quote that aptly fits Tom Grill and this famous stock duo: "It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent. It is the most adaptable to change".
  Tags: Tom Grill Jamie Grill Tom Grill Images Tetra Images Jamie Grill Photography Comstock

QuickLinks For 2007-02-23

• Who´s next? Getty Images says finances can handle more deals:
  Getty Images still has enough financial flexibility after its agreement to buy WireImage for $200 million cash to make another acquisition, its Jonathan Klein said on Thursday. Jupitermedia´s 36 million shares outstanding would be worth about $350 million.
  "We certainly have firepower or capacity to make further acquisitions," Klein said. Getty's cash and cash equivalents at the end of December totaled $339 million. Klein said the company has low debt levels and has not had to go to the market for money to pay for recent acquisitions, providing it flexibility for more deals. "The valuations have definitely come down and the price expectations of any companies we are talking to are very much different than 12 months ago," said Klein.
  Reuters.
  It is often forgotten that MediaVast was a VC backed company and "had raised $15 million in its third round of funding last year, investors included QVT Fund, Time Warner, Baroda Ventures, as well as several strategic and individual investors, such as SBE Entertainment Group. Second round was $4.7 million in 2003".
  Tag: Getty Images

Monopoly Game: Getty Images to acquire MediaVast and its WireImage, FilmMagic and Contour Photos brands

This acquisition game probably never ends.

Only 17 minutes after Jupitermedia confirmed the negotiations with Getty Images about the possible acquisition of Jupitermedia, Getty Images, in a move to boost the growth of its editorial imagery business, announced that it is going to acquire entertainment and celebrity photo agency WireImage, as well as Mediavast, WireImages´owner, and the two other brands of MediaVast, Contour Photos and Filmmagic, for approximately $200 million - more than Getty had to pay for Stockbyte ($135 million) or for Digital Vision ($165 million).

Jupitermedia confirms negotiations with Getty Images

Jupitermedia just confirmed that it is currently in discussions with Getty Images regarding a potential sale and notes that a cash transaction could be valued at $9.60 per share, not at $11 as reported earlier by the New York Post. Consequently the acquisition price could be slightly under $400 million (New York Post: $450 million).

As written earlier, Getty Images would possibly acquire the whole Jupitermedia corporation including the Jupiterweb division. Jupiter notes additionally that "Getty Images’ proposed acquisition is also conditioned on the JupiterWeb business and related assets being sold to a third party concurrently with the consummation of the transaction".

A short conversation: Alan Meckler says "It´s a rumor"

 

What else should he have responded?

 

More on the Story that Getty buys Jupiter from the Analysts

SmartMoney.com and BusinessWeek are out with two reports quoting investment analysts whether or not it is likely that Getty Images is acquiring Jupitermedia/Jupiterimages.

BusinessWeek even quotes analyst Peter P. Appert of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank which, according to the original New York Post report, is said to be working on the deal, together with Evercore Partners:

QuickLinks For 2007-02-21

• Copley Partners with JupiterImages, Expands Offerings:
  Copley News Service is partnering with JupiterImages to offer more than 250,000 stock photographs. The images are from five different collections: Botanica, Brand X Pictures, Nonstock, FoodPix and (re)view (retro images).
  E&P.
  Tags: Jupiterimages Copley

Jupitermedia and Wallstreet in the mornings

• Jupitermedia Buyout possible (The Street.com): "Jupitermedia shares surged 25% after a published report said the company might be a takeover target. Shares of Jupitermedia were lately climbing $1.99 to $10.01 ".

• Jupitermedia Rockets (Forbes/Associated Press): "Jupitermedia shares gained $2.35, or 29.2 percent, to $10.37 in active premarket electronic trading. The stock ended Tuesday trading at $8.02 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, and has traded between $5.45 and $18.81 over the last 52 weeks. Getty Images shares closed at $52.59 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday and were not trading in the premarket session".

New York Post: Getty Images to Acquire Jupitermedia/Jupiterimages for $450 Million?

 

Getty Images, the giant purveyor of stock photos, is in advanced talks to acquire smaller rival Jupitermedia Corp., according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

It's unclear how much Getty is willing to pay for Jupitermedia, but sources close to the deal said the image company could fetch more than $11 a share [JUPM is currently at $8.02], or nearly $450 million including debt.

Getty officials have been meeting with Jupitermedia chief Alan Meckler and conducting due diligence away from the company's Darien, Conn.-based headquarters in order to avoid alarming employees, many of whom are former Getty workers, sources said.

Meckler declined to comment. Investment banks Evercore Partners and Goldman Sachs are said to be working on the deal. Getty is looking to grow in the online market where lower-resolution images dominate.

 

QuickLinks For 2007-02-20

• Getty Images "neutral":
  Analysts at Robert W Baird maintain their "neutral" rating on Getty Images. The target price is set to $51. In a research note published on February 16, the analysts mention that the company posted 10% y/y top-line growth for 2006. Getty Images’ Image Licensing business is likely to have generated 4% organic growth in the year, the analysts say. Although Getty Images’ RM prices are declining, they are more than double that of Corbis, Robert W Baird adds.
  Newratings.com.
  Related:
  
  • $36? $40? $45? $50? $55? They just can´t make up their minds. Now it reads: Getty Images upgraded to "outperform" (Feb. 01, 2007)
  Tag: Getty Images

QuickLinks For 2007-02-19

• iStockphoto CEO on Getty Images acquisition, exclusive interview on one year anniversary:
  iStockphoto employs a 73 person strong worldwide team of image inspectors.
  Result? iStockphoto stats: 35,000 photographer contributors, 150,000 images uploaded monthly, 50% of image uploads are accepted.
  Traction? iStockphoto stats: 180,000-200,000 unique visitors a day, about 4 million page views a day. Data served: 1.5-2 terabytes a day, downloads: an image or video is downloaded somewhere every 3 seconds. [...]
  Getty has provided its “controlled vocabulary” assets to iStockphoto and Livingstone looks forward to significant improvements in image search/retrieval.
  Donna Bogatin/ZDNet today.
  Related:
  
  • Bruce Livingston: Commercializing Community (Jan. 27, 2007; last topic)
  • “If someone’s going to cannibalize your business, better it be one of your other businesses,” says Getty CEO Jonathan Klein (May 25, 2006)
  • [Update] My Prediction Was Right: Getty Images Acquires iStockphoto (Feb. 09, 2006)
  Tags: iStockphoto Bruce Livingston

Letters from Italy: Pino Granata´s Ceterum censeo on Corbis entering the Microstock Business

I´m sure Bill Gates needs to enter the microstock business. It´s a billion dollar business and there´s no way that Corbis stays out of this lucrative business. This way Bill can afford to buy more T-bone steaks for him and his family.

The growth for Corbis in 2006 has been around 10% which comes above all through the acquisitions. To be honest there is a lot to say about Corbis.

Getty Images: Royalty Free Consolidation

Getty Images said yesterday that the stock agency "will streamline and improve our customers’ experience with royalty-free imagery".

According to the company, Getty Images will be consolidating 10 of its 12 existing royalty-free collections into three distinctive collections in the coming months:

Gawker Media: Consumerist´s Editor Ben Popken Admits Publicly to Steal Photos From Flickr´s Photographers

Nick Denton´s Gawker Media blog network is generating a lot of traffic and money with the Consumerist blog which started in December 2005 and runs under the motto: "Capitalism is broken. We'll help you fix it".

Down to earth, Nick Denton said it´s "a shopping site". Consumerist´s editor Ben Popken explains in his brilliant post "Look At Our Flickr Faves" how this works in reality: "People are always complimenting us on our photos. The quality of the photo work shown on The Consumerist mainly stems from our preternatural ability to steal images from Flickr. Over the past few months, we´ve amassed a sizable library of favorites".

Popken then babbles that "transformative use means fair use" of images.

QuickLinks For 2007-02-16

• Dreamstime has asked me to write a blog to share my knowledge of the stock photo business:
  A lot of stock and editorial photo agencies have unveiled new blogs in the last weeks, like Magnum, Reuters and others.
  Microstock agency Dreamstime follows with the Dreamstime blog, written by Content Director Ellen Boughn.
  Tags: Dreamstime Ellen Boughn