StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

Pino Granata: Desperate Stockphoto Dealers

I went to Stockholm for the weekend to see a friend of mine who is also a business associate. He works very hard but he is very unhappy about the business and he is very concerned about the future. He is exploring other options in the world of photography - but also in other businesses.

It´s not worth to work very hard to hear from picture editors that there is no money anymore in this industry. The offers he gets for his pictures are not even enough to cover the expenses.

He tells me of agencies which sell images to publishing houses for a ridiculous low monthly amount of money.

His girlfriend and partner in the business is even more desperate than him: there is no money anymore, she tells me.

QuickLinks For 2008-10-26

• Hard Times for Stock Continue, Corbis to Cut Royalty Rate:
  Corbis CEO Gary Shenk said the company faces “a moment of disruptive change in the image market.”
  “Overall, we expect the image licensing market to shrink in the coming years". He showed a slide forecasting that the total stock image licensing business will fall from $2.3 billion dollars in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2011. The traditional stock licensing that makes up most of the industry will shrink at an even faster rate.
  PDN/Daryl Lang.

Jupiterimages to be sold to Getty Images for $96 million

So where had Alan been?

In Spring 2007 it sounded like a $450 million deal (the New York Post story), now it comes down to $96 million which will "allow Jupitermedia to pay off all of its bank debt".

Getty Images´ press release, followed by Jupitermedia´s press release for Jupiterimages.

More financial details here in the last two paragraphs of this article at 24/7 Wall St.

Pino Granata: The Stock photo market crash

Barack Obama and John McCain have Joe the plumber from Ohio. We have, let´s call him, John Smith, a friend of mine who used to live between New York City and Los Angeles.

I saw him again after a few years in LA during my last trip. He told me: I have to reinvent my life which wasn´t bad.

Until a few years ago, shooting stock, I used to make a couple of thousands with one of the big three and another couple of thousands with an english photo agency.

I also used to have assignments for 3 or 4 thousands and my life wasn´t that bad.

QuickLinks For 2008-10-17

• 2008 Stock photo market crash - So where do we stand today?:
  I wouldn´t predict anyone re-inventing the stock photo industry any time soon.
  The biggest uncertainty right now is how deep the current recession will be (lets call it what it is). It could potentially squeeze otherwise well run companies out of business, period, no matter what the state of the stock photo business itself is.
  Phil Nealey/unsharpmasked.
  Related: 2008 Stock Photo Market Crash? (May 10, 2008)

Pino Granata: We have reached the bottom

Getty has changed hands and nobody knows what are the plans of the new owners to make the company more profitable.

Jupiter has reached the new low ($1.17), losing in one day 30% of its value.

A21 value is between 1 to 3 pennies.

But worse than everything is that all the photo agencies instead of promoting their pictures pointing on the quality, they promise low prices.

They should say: we have pictures that if you use them to promote your products you will increase your sales by 50%. What has happened in the magazines or newspapers for years is that when the editors get free publicity material they don´t even look at it and they throw it in the garbage.

Pino Granata: What´s next?

 

We only know that Getty Images has decided to sell the company.

If they will make 1.5 billion dollars it´s not really very important.

Even though somebody could wonder why they want to sell it right now with the share at $25 when two years ago it was $93!

What should be important for everyone in the business is the meaning of this sale and why at Getty they have decided to sell.

Even more important is to understand what will be the effect of this operation for the business.

 

Getty Images For Sale - Update

Bridget Russel, Director, Corporate Communications, Getty Images (Seattle), today:

"Regarding the New York Times article, as a publicly traded company, we cannot comment on rumor and speculation".

Similar Getty Images´ Alison Crombie (London) over at Photo Archive News:

"We cannot comment on rumour or speculation".

Getty Images For Sale - Have A Nice Monday

 

An old rumor finally becomes reality: only ten days before the next conference call on January 31st, the New York Times reports today "Getty Images Up for Sale, Could Fetch $1.5 Billion": "Final bids are due by the end of the month".

There will be a lot of noise later about the company´s evaluation, given that "for the full year 2007, Getty Images expects revenue of approximately $850 million, this implies revenue of approximately $210 million for the fourth quarter of 2007", and a gloomy future for this industry in general.

Pino Granata: Hollywood, I'm shocked!

 

During my brief visit in Los Angeles recently I met the owner of one of the most interesting photo agencies in California.

"Do you deal with TV and movie stills in your country?", he asks me.

Well, I answer, from time to time I get some free pictures from the studios which I use to complete interviews and biographies of some celebrities.

I wouldn´t say that I sell them but if I´m asked for some TV or movie stills, let´s say that I charge the clients the price of a research, and that´s because of the price they have to pay, it´s very cheap.

Anyway the person tells me, be very, very careful with your behaviour in the future.