I will say that it probably won’t be the big current players or SnapVil-
lage, due to its parentage although, if that site is not a rapid success,
perhaps Corbis might be tempted to do a Getty buy-in to a major
microstock player.
Diversifi cation
The microstocks are already diversifying into video, fl ash, and
graphics. Shutterstock was one of the fi rst with a video offering,
followed by iStockphoto. Jon Oringer said of this development,
“Stock video is the newest addition to our product line. It’s a
young industry, but we believe it will be an important part of
our overall business.” I personally cannot see why sound and
music should not be added and the microstocks become truly
multimedia in content.
Predictions
Bruce Livingstone, CEO of iStockphoto, is confi dent of the future of
microstock but sees some enhancements in search engine technology.
He says: “There will always be a need for new, fresh imagery. A col-
lection must keep cutting-edge and modern. I think what you will see
is much more attention to searching features, to allow people to fi nd
just the right image within a vast collection.... Industries change with
advancements in technology. Smart ‘professional’ photographers are
already looking into microstock as another sales channel.” But Bruce
also recognizes that “this is the year for lots of microstock competition.
It will get interesting.”
Serban Enache of Dreamstime is also confi dent looking forward:
“With many other players jumping into the game, we feel that the
future is simply brighter than ever. Our marketing channels are well
put into place, and new players have to adapt to the rules of the game
while we actually created them.... As to the industry’s future, one
can say that microstock will cause the bubble to burst of the traditional
industry, if it has not done so already.”
Against this confi dent background, here are my predictions for
microstocks in 4 years’ time or less:
- There will be three to four major microstock players, with a few stragglers.
- New intermediate pricing structures will be put in place by Getty and Corbis, bridging
the gap between the microstocks and the major libraries’ core business lines (shortly
after writing the foregoing but before I completed the manuscript for this book,
the fi rst steps in this direction were being taken by Getty with a Web resolution
pricing structure).
PREDICTIONS 187