Getty Images CEO Jonathan Klein
Although the press release issued on the new joint venture doesn't spell out many of the details of the program, an article over at CNET provides more information as does an article
The Seattlepi reports that, "Flickr users will be able to declare whether they want their images considered for commercial use. Klein said Getty's customers will likely prefer scenic or creative images, not those of news events." the Seattlepi adds:
"Flickr users, many of whom are amateurs, will be paid in the same manner as professionals if their images are used commercially. Getty customers usually pay between $29 and $200,000 for an image, depending on how freely they may use it. Photographers receive 30 percent to 40 percent of the licensing fee if the customer's rights to use the image are limited in scope or time, or 20 percent if the image may be used with fewer restrictions."
Personally I think that this partnership is a very promising development, but I'm reserving judgment on its merits until I see more how the deal will actually play out.
What surprises me most about this deal is that in the past Getty has seemed to make a very strong distinction between their "Pro" quality Getty Images photographs, which represents their bread and butter business, vs. "amateur" images which have largely been pushed towards their microstock offering iStockphoto.
iStockphoto sells images for much less than Getty's traditional stock photography business, typically marketing images at $1, $3 and $5 per image.
It would appear that with this new offering, Getty is going to treat at least some of Flickr's images as they would their own "Pro" photographer imagery. My own expectation would be that current Getty "Pros" are probably none too happy about having a new horde of "amateurs" jointing their ranks and competing with their own image sales.
At the same point there is simply no denying the quality of imagery that many of these so called amateurs are posting to Flickr, nor the breadth of photography that has been accumulated, organized and ranked.
It will be interesting to see how Getty balances out this conflict and whether or not their new "Flickr Collection" will receive the same marketing emphasis as their own Pro photography collection.
Earlier this year in February More information from the New York Times here. There is also FAQ up on the new program here as well as a topic on the subject
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