iStockphoto, the Getty Images "microstock" subsidiary that sells low-cost imagery and video, will announce Monday plans to raise prices and therefore photographer revenue next month along with a number of promotional activities.
The company sells credits that give customers rights to use contributors' photos in materials such as advertisements, Web sites or brochures. The higher the resolution, the more credits an image costs, and the credit cost will increase from $1.20 to $1.30 on August 19, said iStockphoto Executive Vice President Kelly Thompson. (Credits are cheaper in bulk.)
Because photographers get a proportion of the credit cost ranging between 20 percent and 40 percent, the increase will mean a few more pennies at least per sale for photographers, too. That may not sound like much, but some popular photos sell hundreds or even thousands of times over, so there are economies of scale at work here.
iStockphoto pioneered the microstock business, but it competes with a host of start-ups and rival sites from the two large stock-photo companies, JupiterImages and Corbis.
The company also is offering some promotions to photographers who contribute pictures. On one day in the next three months, the company will give iStockphoto-exclusive photographers 100 percent of the proceeds. To keep people from improperly benefiting from the deal, the company won't announce the date beforehand, though, Thompson said.
Other promotions geared to make photographers happier include unlimited uploads for the weekend of August 19-20; lowered requirements from 500 downloads to 250 to attain exclusive status and the resulting higher payment rates; $40,000 worth of contest prizes; and expanded the access to higher-fee image licensing programs elsewhere in the Getty business.
iStockphoto sells vector art--that which can be scaled to print at any size--as well as video and flash animations. The company is raising prices overall for video, sales of which are "going beyond our wildest expectations," Thompson said. Previously, videos were available for $5, $10, $20, $35 and $50, but those prices now will move to $10, $20, $30, $40 and $50, he said.
However, vector art prices are dropping from $1, $5, $10, $20 and $40 to $1, $3, $7, $12 and $25. (iStockphoto vector art costs more according to its complexity.) In practice, though, prices aren't necessarily dropping, because the company is moving many $1 files to the $3 price.
Full pricing details are published at the company's Web site.
BigStockPhoto.com, one of a host of "microstock" companies that sells images to advertisers and others who need stock photography, has overhauled its search engine in an attempt to improve performance and usefulness.
(Credit:
BigStockPhoto.com)
The new search tools are faster and can filter images based on parameters such as vertical or horizontal orientation to narrow down searches more quickly, the Davis, Calif.-based company said Wednesday. It also offers the ability to show similar searches to more easily find new but related choices.
"This is...the first of many steps we're taking to dramatically improve BigStockPhoto's user experience," said of BigStockPhoto.com Chief Executive and founder Tim Donahue in a statement.
BigStockPhoto.com has 1.2 million images in its library. It competes with a collection of similar companies, including new entrant SnapVillage from Corbis and with Getty Images subsidiary iStockphoto. The latter announced Wednesday it's enlisted more than 2 million members. Collectively they download images at a rate of about one every 2.5 seconds.
Photo-sharing site Zooomr began a second try Monday to launch its third-generation photo-sharing Web site, attempting to combine social-networking features with unlimited photo storage and, eventually, the capability for photographers to sell their own pictures.
Zooomr's new Zipline chat and status feature
(Credit: Zooomr)The new site, when available, features a Twitter-like interface called Zipline that lets members tell their contacts what they're up to and hear the same from those contacts, according to a video demonstration by co-founder Kristopher Tate. It also lets members join groups and subscribe to discussions.
Zooomr had attempted to fire up the Mark III site in March, but instead bugs and migration issues kept the site was unavailable for nearly a week. The start-up rolled back to the earlier version and postponed the upgrade.
Founder Kristopher Tate estimated the new relaunch would be done within 24 hours. He and Chief Executive Thomas Hawk appeared on a late-night video feed Monday holding a two-man launch party and answering questions. (Hawk likes both Pacifica and Rolling Rock beer, has a bachelor's degree in political science, and gets "in sort of this Zen state when I'm out there with the camera shooting.")
Zooomr has had a rocky few months. Shortly after the relaunch snafu, its investor pulled out its money when the start-up's cash flow turned positive. That's delaying some new hardware purchases.
Then, just before Monday's second relaunch attempt, a database hard drive crashed and Tate and Hawk had to drive from San Francisco to Silicon Valley in the middle of the night to repair it.
Zooomr Mark III Take 2 will arrive in three weeks, but at the same time, the photo-sharing site may enter a "hiatus."
A screenshot of Zooomr's redesigned site
(Credit: Zooomr)In March, glitches forced the photo-sharing site to back off a redesign that would permit Zooomr users to sell their own photos and would lift storage limits, among other changes. The new version now is scheduled to arrive in three weeks--May 21--said lead programmer Kristopher Tate on his blog Monday.
Tate also said the company is looking for new investors.
"I have some breaking news to share that may create a period of hiatus for Zooomr: Our initial investor heard we were cash-positive and has decided to pull their money out of our accounts," Tate said.
The lack of funds will "hinder" the purchase of storage systems, he said, but Mark III will be launched nonetheless.
"In the above interests, we've started to look for fresh investment," Tate said. "We know there are angels, VCs and other investors reading our blog--so if you think you can help, please let us know!"
Tate also posted a screenshot of the redesigned Zooomr.
(Credit:
Shutterstock)
Shutterstock, a company that sells "stock art" images taken by members of its community, gave its more valuable photographers a raise on Monday.
The company pays photographers 25 cents for each image that a customer downloads. Beginning May 1, founder and Chief Executive Jon Oringer announced Monday, anyone who sells more than $500 worth of images will get 20 percent more per image--30 cents.
Oringer also said his company now has 25 full-time employees.
Shutterstock competes chiefly with Internet-based stock art shops including iStockphoto, Fotolia, Dreamstime, but also with traditional powers including Corbis and Getty Images.
(Via Stock Photo Talk)
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