6 Understanding the Microstock Revolution
It should be no big surprise, then, that the major stock libraries
could command substantial fees to license the use of images to buyers.
High prices were justifi ed by high production, cataloguing, scanning,
distribution, management, and storage costs.
In the 1980s, a handful of major players grew to dominate the stock
photography market, led by Getty Images and Corbis. The sales pitch
remained much the same—high-quality pictures at relatively high
prices. Images were not “sold” but “licensed.” The license would allow
the buyer to use the image for the specifi c purpose or purposes agreed
on with the stock library in advance. The price would be determined
by a number of factors, such as image placement (front page, inside
page, etc.), size, circulation of the publication, duration of the license,
industry segment, and geographical spread.
The traditional licensing of images remains the backbone of the
stock photography market. Many libraries offering licensed images also
offer the option (at additional cost) of exclusivity so that a buyer knows
the images he or she has purchased will not be used by a competitor.
That can be important. However, the licensed model of image use can
prove restrictive, and in the 1980s, royalty-free stock photography
emerged as an alternative.
The title “royalty free” is misleading. The buyer does not have to
pay royalties for each use of an image, but he or she still has to pay
a fee for the image at the outset; however, once the image has been
paid for, the buyer can use the image indefi nitely and for multiple
purposes. There are usually some restrictions, which might include
limits on reselling or print runs, but the buyer has much more freedom
to repeat the use of an image. The downside for the buyer is the risk
that someone else might use the same image in a competing publica-
tion. There is generally no protection against this with the standard
royalty-free sales model.
At the outset of royalty-free stock photography, prices were com-
parable to those for licensed images. The justifi cation for this was the
same as for licensed photography as the cost issues were broadly the
same.Extinction of the Dinosaurs
Some scientists now believe that three (or more) factors led to the
extinction of the dinosaurs and, thus, ultimately to the ascendancy of
mammals—long-term climate change, a major meteor strike at Chicxu-
lub, and volcanic activity. It is all very controversial and uncertain. I
bring this up because there are similarities between this event and the
emergence of microstock.