Microstock and the Stock Photo Industry
Getty and Jupiter Images look like Getty's takeover of Jupiter will go through.This will cause huge changes in the regular stock industry as Getty has already recently taken over a microstock company and this will probably be integrated into Getty Images under a new brand name. I wonder if any of Jupiter's stock will end up as microstock product ?
Corbis and other major stock libraries now have a major choice to make - should they stick to offering regular stock in a diminishing market or go down the microstock route ?
(The stock business worldwide was estimated some 6 years ago at 4.5 Billion dollars a year before the spread of Getty's buying spree but has now shrunk to just over 2 Billion dollars and this has several probable causes - not the least of which is the microstock industry which has crept up slowly and looks like replacing regular stock).
Investors in major companies should ask themselves if the golden goose has already been plucked.
Other photolibraries should look carefully at where their clients have gone to .. the traditional way to enter a market and get rid of competition by slashing prices so that smaller competitors go out of business has rebounded on the giants in the industry who are now scratching their heads over - where did they all go ? - type conferences. The microstock agencies offer good quality pictures (mostly ) at single or double figure sums which cut the throats of major stock agencies who just can't compete.
Over the next 6 to 12 months the stock industry will change very drastically - the skills of professional photographers are no longer (mainly) needed since the advent of high quality point and shoot digital cameras offering high quality images for designers and publishers)
Labels: microstock, photography, stock photos
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posted by Keith @ 5:35 PM
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