Stock 2.0: Part Two
In part one we talked with top photographer Jack Hollingsworth about the changing landscape of the stock photography business.
In this segment Jack talks about the different factors driving these changes.
MacTribe: What about the growth in stock footage? Is this a sector to keep our eyes on and embrace?
JH: If you look at estimated Getty revenue for 08 in footage and multimedia, it’s 5% of total revenue (47 million) and it's projected to grow 7% by 2012 (or 83 million). You do the math. Is this a high growth sector? Is it an area you want to invest in? Or watch and wait?
I’m bullish on both creators shooting footage…and resellers licensing it. Yet, in my opinion, it’s not a ‘land grab’ opportunity. No gold rush here. Not yet. Go slow. Be cautious.
JackHollingsworth.com has a history and experience of cross-platform shooting. Meaning it’s not uncommon for us to shoot stills and footage together on the same set. And while we continue to be teased and tantalized by increased bandwidth options on the web, we are not giving up on creative still; which continue to occupy the lion’s share of our revenue and interests...and passions.
MacTribe: What are the major trends and influences of today that are challenging the traditional stock photography model?
JH: There are many problems facing the traditional stock photography model. Most of which have been well chronicled. Eroding rights. Eroding content value. Eroding photography/agency relationship. Collection sameness. Irrelevant search. Oversupply. Agency staffing and turnover. Closed brand thinking. Declining RPI. Declining sell-thru rates. Cannibalization effect of micro stock on RF/RM.
But out of all of this, what bothers me the most, as a creator, is that we seem to have lost our collective soul. Our DNA imprint on the pictures we take and license. Our uniqueness. Our point of view. Our personal vision on the subjects, themes and concepts we shoot.
What we all need to get back to is digging deep. Resisting the urge to shoot mind-numbing cell phone shots. Or generic shopping bags. Or mannequins at laptops. Or cucumbers on eyelids. Enough please. Stop the merry-go-round. Let’s collectively find that still, small voice within again. Foster it. Encourage it. Listen to it. And come out the other end with trophy content. Stand up and shout stuff. Images we’re proud of. That are full of life and authenticity. Winners. Trust me - if we can get to this place as creators and resellers, we’ll not only have renewed collection value…but we’ll have web 2.0 photo buyers beating a path to our doorstep. No joke. But continue on the path of mediocrity that we’re on, and photo buyers will source elsewhere.
Jack's Survival Tactics for Staying Competitive in a Stock 2.0 Environment:
Stay agile
Small is the new big (thank you, Seth Godin). Get small…in a hurry. Reduce your operational cost. Limit your risks. Maybe focus on marketing rather than content creation. At least for the time being.
Stay connected
As I’ve suggested over and over, get and stay connected. To your customers. To your staff. To your fans. To your business associates. To your families.
Stay focused
With so many ‘this and thats’ popping up, it’s easy to get distracted. Focus on your core competencies. And do them better than anyone else.
Stay diversified
Test the waters. With RF. With RM. With micro. With subscription. If something sticks, do more of it. If not…change directions. Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.
Stay viral
Live and breath Web 2.0 and Stock 2.0. You will not survive without understanding this space. And being a participant, not a spectator. Join the conversation.
Stay personal
Web 2.0 has created a revolution in interaction. A revolution in personalization. A revolution in extreme customization. Get real. Get personal. Pop open the hood. Open the kimono. Show us what you’re made out of.
MacTribe:
Do you have any idea of the size of the market today?
JH:
I’m not a statistician, but most analysts put the size of the commercial photo industry around 6 billion – 4 billion in assignments and commissions and 2 billion in stock. And while I have no empirical data to back this up, if you account for all the ‘non-commercial’ images bought and sold today…then this number could be 2-4 times larger than what we’ve traditionally imagined. No telling.
Interestingly, 75% of total worldwide revenues come from the big box retailers – Getty, Corbis and Jupiter.
Think web 2.0. Think global. Think commercial and non-commercial users. Take a hint from the micro market and build community.
Check back for part 3 of our conversation with Jack Hollingsworth.
All images copyright Jack Hollingsworth used by kind permission.
