http://www.abouttheimage.com/ news for the stock photography industry en will@abouttheimage.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-22T07:31:01-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4472/alamy_approaches_30m_images_announces_us_revenue_up/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/alamy_approaches_30m_images_announces_us_revenue_up/#When:06:31:01Z Photo agency Alamy is reporting US revenue up 48% in the last quarter of 2011. The UK based agency which set up it’s US sales operation in 2009, has also further strengthened its experienced management team with the appointment of high profile ex-Corbis employee Adam Goldberg (photo above) as Vice President of Sales for North America (Adam left the post of Director of Corporate Development at the end of 2011). Adam will be focused on expanding the US sales team in 2012 and developing the US client base further. The agency is also close to ‘smashing’ the 30 million image milestone, as 2012 gets off to a great start with 1 million images added in 6 weeks. View and licence from Alamy’s 28 million images here. 2012-02-22T06:31:01-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4471/scott_mc_kiernan_presents_5_years_of_doubletruck_magazine/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/scott_mc_kiernan_presents_5_years_of_doubletruck_magazine/#When:05:13:00Z Scott Mc Kiernan owner at Zuma Press Presents - 5 Years of DOUBLEtruck Magazine They say: Launched with First Issue Feb. 2, 2004 “DOUBLEtruck is a unique magazine that’s dedicated to big pictures. It was inspired by the photojournalism renaissance in 2003, when major magazines around the globe ran amazing picture content of the Iraq conflict over numerous two-page spreads,” says award-winning photojournalist and DOUBLEtruck publisher Scott Mc Kiernan. “Each image featured in the magazine tells the story as only a strong single image can. DOUBLEtruck aims to promote and inspire outstanding photojournalism. With in-your-face images printed across two pages, DOUBLEtruck is the ultimate showcase for high-impact photography of important world issues,” says Mc Kiernan. 2012-02-17T05:13:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4470/deposit_photos_hits_6m_images_reports_growth_in_editorial_images_demand/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/deposit_photos_hits_6m_images_reports_growth_in_editorial_images_demand/#When:04:33:00Z Florida based Depositphotos Stock Photo Agency has added another million images to its collection since December 2011 - that’s just two months! They say: ‘Having started accepting and selling images for editorial use, Depositphotos has become an alternative microstock agency for photographers working in the field of editorial photography who previously had no possibility to sell their images with Depositphotos. Since its innovation the editorial images as well as demand for them have been steadily growing, so Depositphotos encourages photographers shooting editorial shoots to cooperate.’ “We’d like to express our gratitude to all stock photographers and illustrators who have trusted us to sell their images”, says Igor Kaliuzhnyi, Head of Depositphotos’ Departments in Eastern and Western Europe. “We’ve been successful in expanding our image collection at incredibly high speed to meet such a soaring demand for high-quality images on various topics only owing to our mutual efforts.  News 2012-02-17T04:33:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4469/paca_antipiracy_statement_members_survey_results/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/paca_antipiracy_statement_members_survey_results/#When:04:14:00Z PACA (Picture Archive Council Of America) have released an antipiracy statement titled ‘Putting our focus on piracy - Unauthorized use and the media licensing industry. The effect of piracy and unauthorized use on media licensing businesses should not be underestimated. As an industry, we face a threat that is hard to measure accurately and even harder to prevent. But we do know its outcome: loss of revenue and an eroded ability to protect and monetize our creative property. PACA is taking a stand against theft, evangelizing its impact and what we can do to combat it. We’re reaching out to our members and sister trade organizations, publishing and publicizing information on piracy, and sharing our findings with representatives in government, especially those focused on trade and copyright. And we need you to join us in this critical fight. Survey says To help us better see what we’re up against, PACA conducted an online survey between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 specifically focused on the impact to revenues for the commercial and editorial image and motion licensing industry from unauthorized use. We concentrated solely on the US market, and invited all relevant PACA members to participate, as well as a number of non-members. The results were striking, but not surprising.* One hundred percent of responders voiced some level of concern about the effect of piracy on their organization, with 81% indicating that they are either “increasingly concerned” or even “very concerned.” Across all business sizes, 30% reported feeling that infringement volumes were increasing for the survey period by 10% to 50% year over year. Remarkably, another 26% believed that infringements were increasing by more than 50% compared to the previous year. And our survey data is not the only confirmation of what certainly looks to be an ominous trend. In 2005, an organization of stock photo artists, the Stock Artist Alliance, requested that a third-party organization, PicScout, survey a sample of commercial websites to assess the level of infringements of images licensed on a rights-managed basis in the US, Germany and the UK. Published in 2007, the study showed that approximately 9 out of every 10 images on commercial websites indicated some level of infringement. In March 2010, PicScout shared new global data showing that the total volume of infringements reported by its stock agency clients increased more than 3 times over 2006 levels—about 8 out of 10 uses today of rights managed images on commercial websites are being used without licensing. Defining unauthorized use The practice of an end user utilizing product without a license agreement, or in a way that falls outside of a license agreement. Includes deliberate theft of product online, as in use on a personal blog or social media profile, through file sharing sites, or in typical product applications like advertising or publishing. Holding back the tide For PACA members, these numbers are a reality of everyday business. Of our survey responders, 66% stated that they have invested in at least a part-time in-house resource for pursuing infringements, and many utilize outside technology partners as well. When they are alerted to piracy, it is clear that the dominant responses of our members are reactive. The majority of responsive actions rely heavily on “requests for payment” or a “request for removal,” steps which not only consume time and capital resources on the part of stock companies, but apparently have a very mixed rate of success. 55% of members indicated they had 10 or fewer pursuit outcomes that generated revenue during the year. And the bulk of respondents—57%— reported recovering less than $10K, with 19% recovering none at all. It is worth noting that no one is taking infringement lying down. A significant 96% of respondents said they actively watermark and/or embed copyright data in content to proactively help prevent piracy. And few organizations, regardless of size, reported taking no action when infringements are found, although of those that did say they took no action, nearly half indicated a lack of resources as the reason. Considering how little might be recovered from pursuit, this hardly comes as a shock. Artistic license Unfortunately, the majority of infringement seem to be occurring, as always, in some of the most fertile markets for stock content. In a technological era when designers and developers can simply right-click on just about any online image and repurpose it, it’s not surprising that web advertising and online editorial uses dominate the infringement categories for our survey responders. Not far behind is the professional, commercial, and personal blogosphere, where a casual approach to content creation and management seems to make image licensing a low priority, regardless of the robust viewer traffic these pages can receive. And despite the often-heard cry that “print is dead,” piracy there seems alive and well, with 32% of responders indicating infringements in traditional print advertising. *Data inclusive of all product types in both commercial and editorial licensing: RF, RM, footage and microstock. Annual assumptions for activity in 2009. Difficult medicine The stock photography industry depends on copyright to protect the value of the works that we license on behalf of their owners. As the internet grows ever greater in importance, we must be able to continue to license images to users in an online environment. Yet while the web demands more and more images, it’s becoming easier and easier to use them without appropriate licensing.  It’s impossible to determine the full economic harm of unauthorized uses, but our study shows that the use of images without proper licensing and payment is rampant. As a consequence, the revenue earned by PACA members—and, critically, our contributing artists—are necessarily impaired. On an industry level, the risk that free images will continue to erode the market for professionally created images licensed by PACA members is simply unacceptable—any significant further decrease in revenues will undoubtedly impact the size and viability of organizations, our members’ employees, and professional earners whose content is at the core of our offer. At PACA, we’re focusing on four fronts where we believe real and lasting impacts on piracy can be achieved: Education. Copyright education in the school system must be established. As part of our mission, PACA has designed a copyright education program designed to educate image users and visual artists of copyright basics in licensing images. Yet our involvement has revealed a striking lack of basic copyright knowledge, which surely contributes to (at least) inadvertent infringement. In a time when instruction about plagiarism and cheating are a major focus for the education system, copyright and asset ownership would seem to be a natural extension. Technology. PACA encourages the use of technology solutions to encourage proper licensing and deter infringements. Technology companies are offering image recognition and image tracking solutions that can connect a potential user to the image owner or image licensor. While we recognize the budget impact these investments can have on our members—especially smaller organizations—we are confident that wider use of technology deterrents will help secure more revenue for stock companies over the long term. Advocacy. PACA has recently taken the step of retaining a lobbying professional in the Washington, DC area to strengthen and streamline our relationship with the US Copyright Office. We believe this new arrangement will not only bring our member’s concerns about piracy into greater relief, but also allow us to offer industry-wide insight into the causes and impacts of infringement. Enforcement. PACA strongly encourages the enforcement of intellectual property rights on a worldwide basis and the continued necessity of working with other countries to reduce infringements on a global basis. Here in the US, we have realized that means a cost-effective and efficient judicial mechanism to enforce our industry’s rights. As copyright infringement cases are the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts, the expense, both administrative and legal in filing a federal copyright claim, can exceed the amount of potential damages available to a copyright owner. To that end, PACA is putting its support behind recent and ongoing congressional efforts to provide better enforcement tools to fight foreign websites that are dedicated to pirated material. We also are working on comments for the US Copyright Office for a possible Small Claims Dispute Resolution Option, as well as best practices with copyright registry. Next steps Finding a remedy to the level of piracy our members face will not be easy. Those who willfully or inadvertently infringe on copyright ownership of an image can do so more easily than ever, and the burden of detection, pursuit, and enforcement is wholly on the shoulders of our industry. But we at PACA believe that doing nothing will deliver nothing. Only a concerted effort on the part of every PACA member—and, indeed, all stakeholders in the media and content world, from music to motion pictures and beyond—can effect the necessary change to slow the steady decay of revenue caused by infringement. We invite you to stand with us against infringement, use PACA resources to arm your organization, and get involved in this critical fight for our collective survival. We must not tolerate piracy in the image business. We can’t. Learn more at pacaoffice.org PACA 2012-02-17T04:14:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4468/ipad_give_away_photo_agency/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/ipad_give_away_photo_agency/#When:13:44:01Z Portland, Maine based photo agency Aurora Photos have an iPAD give away just launched. Enter here. 2012-02-16T13:44:01-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4467/corbis_offers_entertainment_content_subscriptions/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/corbis_offers_entertainment_content_subscriptions/#When:16:09:00Z Corbis have just announced they are offering 24-hour access to red carpet moments, iconic celebrity portraiture and candid shots for any project or budget through a new entertainment subscription service. They say: ‘OnDemand: Entertainment subscriptions include select imagery from Splash News, the world’s leading breaking entertainment and celebrity candid image provider, Corbis Outline as well as red carpet and iconic celebrity imagery from the agency’s collection of archives.’ “Corbis entertainment subscriptions provide customers entertainment content from every facet of celebrity life – from the latest breaking Hollywood scoops to red carpet moments and high-concept magazine covers,” said Barak Ronen senior vice president of Media for Corbis. “The new subscription service offers quick access, flexible terms, multiple content options and the ability to download relevant images from the largest collection of entertainment images available. We cover events as they happen and are truly the best option for customers who want the most comprehensive access to all things celebrity.” OnDemand: Entertainment subscriptions include select imagery from Splash News, the world’s leading breaking entertainment and celebrity candid image provider, Corbis Outline™, Corbis’ renowned premium commercial brand, as well as red carpet and iconic celebrity imagery from the company’s unmatched collection of archives. Three subscription tiers are available to meet the diverse requirements of Corbis customers: · The BASE package is the most affordable of the three and provides entertainment coverage from the red carpet and global A-list events. Over 1000 images are added to the collection each day from Hollywood and around the world including major awards such as the Oscars, movie premieres and film festivals. Includes access to 20 years of curated Base Entertainment archives with more than 500,000 images and over 1 million Splash News archive images. · The EXTENDED package includes everything in the BASE package, plus additional Corbis Entertainment content, runway and fashion images from Women’s Wear Daily and Condé Nast, theatre and concert coverage, and iconic archival shots from the world’s top photographers. Each day 800 to 1,000 images are added to this subscription. This package also provides access to a selection of Corbis’ historical entertainment archives including the legendary Bettmann collection. · The TOTAL ACCESS package provides everything offered above, plus the very latest Splash premium content delivered straight to customers’ desktops. This includes A-grade celebrity portraiture of today’s stars from exclusive and one on one sessions with some of the best portrait photographers in the world. Plus daily celebrity candids from Splash News. Around 1500 star candids and 25 front-page portraits are added every day. While not part of the subscription packages, customers in the United States will also benefit from the comprehensive images supplied by AP Entertainment through individual purchase. The strategic alliance between Corbis and the Associated Press will make thousands of breaking news, sports and entertainment images available each day, as well as more than 5 million archival photos through AP Images. For additional information about OnDemand: Entertainment subscriptions or to inquire about the “Corbis 24 Hour Celebrity” campaign, please call 800-260-0444 to speak with a Corbis representative. 2012-02-15T16:09:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4466/whitney_houston_photo_time_line_photo_galleries/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/whitney_houston_photo_time_line_photo_galleries/#When:06:51:00Z Rex Features in the UK, dpa Picture Alliance in Germany and AP Images are first up with time-line photo galleries Whitney Houston who died in Los Angeles yesterday. 2012-02-12T06:51:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4465/ncaa_resign_with_thought_equity/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/ncaa_resign_with_thought_equity/#When:11:52:00Z Video management and licensing agency Thought Equity Motion has announced that it has extended its exclusive licensing contract with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association). In addition to licensing NCAA Championship video, Thought Equity Motion now has the rights to license photographs and radio calls from the NCAA’s 89 Championships across 23 sports and all three division levels. The photographs capture an array of memorable NCAA championship moments ranging from action shots, celebrations, and trophy ceremonies to fans, mascots, and cheerleaders. News 2012-02-07T11:52:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4464/vii_gallery_the_family/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/vii_gallery_the_family/#When:10:21:00Z The Family | An exhibition by Jocelyn Bain Hogg The result of a four-year project, The Family documents the goings-on of the Pyle organized-crime family, revealing the seedy underworld of these notorious British gangsters and their affiliates. Feb. 2 - March 2, 2012, Artists Reception - Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, 7pm VII Gallery, 28 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York News 2012-02-07T10:21:00-05:00 http://www.abouttheimage.com/4463/first_light_is_at_alaska_photos/author43 http://www.abouttheimage.com/first_light_is_at_alaska_photos/#When:10:06:00Z Alaska Stock Images, have announced a strategic distribution partnership with First Light, a division of Design Pics Inc. Alaska Stock Images has distribution partnerships with many of the leading photo stock agencies with access to over 30 countries. The Alaska Stock collection provides an excellent source of Alaskan photos from the Great Land to customers of both First Light and Design Pics. “Alaska has always had good relations with our northern neighbors in Canada....and working with First Light and Design Pics is no exception. We look forward to being able to provide them with our collection of Alaskan photography.” commented Gina Bringman, Alaska Stock International Distribution Coordinator. About: First Light, recently acquired by Design Pics, represents major collections from around the world, as well as dozens of smaller niche collections of Rights-managed and Royalty-free content. First Light/Design Pics also distributes some of Canada’s best visual content to the world, representing 350 top Canadian stock photographers. Design Pics/First Light distributes the work of these photographers in more than 50 countries worldwide, through a network of more than 170 agents. News 2012-02-07T10:06:00-05:00