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UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
« on: May 07, 2013, 06:26:02 PM »
Hi David
What I'd say to you is that maybe it's about time this industry moved into the 21st Century in the same way that iTunes has revolutionised music downloads. Getty et al still act like the purveyors of some sacred stone and instead of embracing the new digital world, they fight against it. The fact that they cling to outdated models does nothing to benefit honest people like yourself...as can be seen in this forum's post
My suggestion would be to collaborate with other photographers and create your own website(s). You not only free yourself of other companies' commissions, but have more control over your output, plus you will find that 'small people' like me would welcome your work and gladly pay for it, because you're one of us. To create a niche, and also profit for yourself, you make sure that your content is always fresh, so that you can accept that after a few months your images will be copied to the hilt, but people will pay for something that no one else has.
Getty can exist in their world promoting exclusive images, but how many images actually fall into that category? The majority of us want high quality images that are representative of our brands and if the cost is reasonable, payment is not an issue. If you create strategic partnerships with marketing companies (large and small) you can not only secure good licensing terms, but bespoke work as well.
Great content does float to the surface, but there are ways to see good, honest people profit from their work in a structure other than the one we currently have. This is an opportunity and I do sincerely hope you take it.
What I'd say to you is that maybe it's about time this industry moved into the 21st Century in the same way that iTunes has revolutionised music downloads. Getty et al still act like the purveyors of some sacred stone and instead of embracing the new digital world, they fight against it. The fact that they cling to outdated models does nothing to benefit honest people like yourself...as can be seen in this forum's post
My suggestion would be to collaborate with other photographers and create your own website(s). You not only free yourself of other companies' commissions, but have more control over your output, plus you will find that 'small people' like me would welcome your work and gladly pay for it, because you're one of us. To create a niche, and also profit for yourself, you make sure that your content is always fresh, so that you can accept that after a few months your images will be copied to the hilt, but people will pay for something that no one else has.
Getty can exist in their world promoting exclusive images, but how many images actually fall into that category? The majority of us want high quality images that are representative of our brands and if the cost is reasonable, payment is not an issue. If you create strategic partnerships with marketing companies (large and small) you can not only secure good licensing terms, but bespoke work as well.
Great content does float to the surface, but there are ways to see good, honest people profit from their work in a structure other than the one we currently have. This is an opportunity and I do sincerely hope you take it.