iStock
iStockphoto is an online, royalty free, stock photography provider operating using the micropayment business model. Images cost between $1 and $40 (depending on size). According to their website they are "the world's fastest growing collection of original, independent, royalty-free images." They helped to pioneer the microstock photography industry.
On February 9, 2006 iStockphoto was acquired by Getty Images for $50 million USD[1]. The iStockphoto CEO, Bruce Livingstone, promised that the site would continue "functioning independently with the benefits of Getty Images, yet, very importantly for them and us, autonomy. They will nurture and encourage our pioneering spirit so that our entrepreneurial culture will continue to thrive."
The online photo library contains (as of Apr 2006) over 760,000 images, contributed by over 18,000 photographers at the rate of 12,000 to 14,000 images per week. iStockPhoto.com is currently ranked 308 on Alexa[2], and was recently described as the most visited stock photo site in the world.
History
The company was founded by Bruce Livingstone in May 2000. Originally iStockphoto was a free stock imagery website. Over the course of time, however, with its increasingly large collection of high-quality images it transitioned into its current micropayment model. The website was originally supported by Livingstone's web development firm, Evolvs Media, but now exists as an independent corporation. It was recently acquired by Getty Images for the sum of $50 million.
Contributors
Contributing photographers must apply (via a short quiz regarding the website's policies and requirements, and basic photographic knowledge) before they are eligible to upload their images. The applicant's sample images are screened for quality and suitability before being approved.
Once approved, photographers can begin uploading their work through the website. They supply keywords, categorize the images, and submit them to the "inspection queue," where each and every image is examined to ensure that it meets the standards of quality, usefulness and copyright and trademark laws.
iStockphoto also sells vector graphics made in programs like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand; Macromedia Flash elements and raster illustrations created in 3d graphics programs or bitmap editors like Adobe Photoshop.
Contributors receive a commission of between 20% and 40% of each sale, depending on whether or not they are "exclusive," and on their current "canister level." New canisters are awarded for various milestones such as 500 sales, 2,500 sales, 10,000 sales, 25,000 sales, and 200,000 sales. Only one photographer, lisegagne, has passed the 200,000 point, while around thirty members have passed the 25,000 level and received the coveted "diamond canister."
Contributing photographers who reach a minimum of 500 sales are offered to option of becoming exclusive to the company. If they do so, a bonus is added to their commission and they must not sell royalty-free stock images anywhere else. Rights managed sales are allowed off site even under the exclusivity contract.
Purchasing and Use
Each approved image is added to the searchable online database, where it can be found by purchasers. Depending on the original size of an image, it can be bought in Small, Medium, Large, XLarge and XXLarge sizes. These cost 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20/40 credits. Vector and Flash files also cost 1 to 40 credits, based on complexity.
iStock credits are purchased ahead of time in any amount, and are worth $1 each. Bulk purchase gives up to 20% bonus credits.
Files can be downloaded immediately, and used in almost anything. The license agreement prohibits only a few uses, such as web templates, print on demand, adult materials, etc. Any print runs over 500,000 must pay additional royalties.
Community
iStockphoto's online community of 750,000 members includes internet forums, a creative-network for keeping track of friends, and peer review/rating system.
iStockphoto has a reputation for interacting with their member-base and discussing changes and new ideas openly before and after implementation.
The forums are a good place to get to know the rules and procedures, and to seek help understanding the site or improving one's skills.
iStockphoto get-togethers are occasionally held in various cities around the world, and are sponsored by the company. They are referred to as iStockalypses. Smaller, photographer organized events are put on in many cities are the world, and are called Minilypses.
Controversies
To critics of the micropayment stock photography market, iStockphoto represents a threat to an old and well established precedent. Stock photography has long been an expensive and elite market. Some feel that the extremely low prices are undercutting and devaluing the stock photography market, by offering images vastly below accepted price standards.
Members of iStockphoto and its administration argue that the micropayment model has two benefits:
Firstly, the much higher number of sales which are made at the lower price range offsets the lower commissions, often netting the contributor more than he or she would receive from the same portfolio in a traditional stock library over a given period of time.
Secondly, the lower price makes high quality images available to a much wider market, including small business, educational organizations, and personal use. This broadens the market, and improves the overall quality of web and printed material.
Critics contend that iStockPhoto's pricing lowballs the competition and suppresses the value of photography. The commissions at iStockPhoto (on the low end of the spectrum, and ranging between 20% and 45%) are below the industry norm of 50% and are based on much lower purchase fees to begin with.
Critics also cite low earnings in comparison to expenses, if equipment costs, image processing, and negotiating the uploading and review process are taken into account. With roughly 45 cents per download on a standard image, members could expect a couple dollars per image over a years time, they say.
An informal poll conducted on iStockPhoto's forums[3] found an average royalty of $11.01 USD per image per year. However, such data may reflect the self-selected nature of the respondents as heavily involved contributors. No official data about average royalties is released by Getty which owns the company.
Supporters of the iStockPhoto system contend that a large portfolio, due to the vastly reduced prices, and vastly increased sales numbers, yields the same, or higher, earnings as a traditional stock service would. Hard evidence to prove this is not available, and number-crunchers must content themselves with a handful of personal success stories. Additionally, they say, many contributors are not professionals, but a new generation of skilled in-betweeners who find themselves above the skill level of a casual amateur, and not as serious as a professional.
iStockVideo
On July 31st, 2006 iStockPhoto announced the development of a new branch, iStockVideo, which will sell stock video clips in a variety of formats from web-size, through NTSC and PAL up to HDV and HD sizes. The collection is slated to open on September 5th, 2006, and clips (between 5 and 30 seconds) will range in cost from $5 USD to $50 USD, based on resolution.
This new branch of iStockPhoto competes with motion stock collections already available from companies such as Getty, Artbeats, and Veer.
Similar Websites
The enormous success of iStockphoto has inspired a number of similar competing websites. They include Fotolia, Dreamstime,and ShutterStock, among others.