Comments on: Getty Uses A Nefarious Tactic To Raise Rates

By: Debra Weiss

Debra Weiss — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:12:32 +0000

@Kristina Krug,

Kristina,

Photoshelter is not a stock agency so it is impossible to compare the two.

By: Kristina Krug

Kristina Krug — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:34:53 +0000

@Another Reader,
Thank you!

By: Kristina Krug

Kristina Krug — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:29:57 +0000

@andy anderson,
Andy-
I’ve looked at Photoshelter, who along with Getty, etc. Seems they price the images for you? If you go solo, like yourself, how do you keep your pricing current, and fair?

By: Kristina Krug

Kristina Krug — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:26:15 +0000

@Debra Weiss,
Debra,

I’m weighing this issue right now.

What about Photoshelter?

By: san francisco supervisor tom ammiano: Boo Hoo, and Buh-ByePhoto Business News & Forum « LyPian

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:10:37 +0000

[...] people signed contracts with photographers and then tried to call a do-over on them citing a typo ( Getty Uses A Nefarious Tactic To Raise Rates and Getty Bullies Photographers After Buying Agency), these people forced, by their own collective [...]

By: Getty Photog EB

Getty Photog EB — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:01:18 +0000

I’m a Getty Photog.
I get 40% and always have… Why should this photog get 60% ?

Getty made a mistake.. or I should say, an employee at Getty made a typo…

Would everyone like to fire this person for a typo ?

Damn, i made SO MUCH more money at Getty than i ever did at Corbis, or marketing photographs on my own. Every photographer i know wants to get into Getty. Why are people never happy?

If you want 100% profit, shoot, market, and sell yourself. If you don’t like Getty that much, don’t work with them… period…

We all have that choice…

By: dude

dude — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:52:34 +0000

So when are photographers going to get organized and start a real alternative to Getty/Corbis?

At this point, with digital delivery and ecommerce, all it takes is some web servers, a programmer and a lawyer to draft contracts (with favorable terms).

By: Alicia Calzada

Alicia Calzada — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:27:11 +0000

While I haven’t seen the original contract with Getty, it probably has what is called a “merger clause.”

A merger clause says that the agreement is the entire agreement and no other promises or agreements made outside of that agreement are effective, unless signed and in writing.

If there is a merger clause (and in many cases if there isn’t) I would be surprised if a judge considered the contract modification valid, unless it was signed by the photographer.

Passive acceptance to a contract, or a contract modification (silence) is sketchy at best. Considering the original contract was drawn up by Getty in the first place, they would have a hard time convincing a judge that they didn’t mean it.

Just my personal opinion. (not a lawyer).

By: James Godman

James Godman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:03:46 +0000

@Joe M.,

By value the work, I mean don’t give up your copyrights, and have work that you can charge proper sums for. I have only given up my copyrights a few times (twice that I can recall), and that was because I was offered big $$.

So value your work and keep trying to make better images, and let people know you exist!

By: Joe M.

Joe M. — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:57:24 +0000

@James Godman,

Thanks for the response James. I’m an eternal optimist, so at least I have that going for me!

What exactly do you mean by “value that work”?

By: James Godman

James Godman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:48:23 +0000

@Joe M.,

Step 1: Make great work
Step 2: Value that work
Step 3: Write a business plan (including marketing)
Step 4: Execute plan
Step 5: See what works and revise
Step 6: Maintain positive attitude

Good luck!

By: Joe M.

Joe M. — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:24:05 +0000

@James Godman,

Step 1: Don’t give up copyright
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit!

Is it possible to break into the industry, retain my copyright, AND make a livable wage?

By: James Godman

James Godman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:17:18 +0000

@Joe M: Don’t give up your copyrights.

By: Joe M.

Joe M. — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:53:44 +0000

So as a young photographer trying to break into the industry, what am I supposed to do?

Everyone says to avoid Getty, AP, etc., because they steal your rights.

But let me tell you, no one cares about some kid just out of college with a “pretty good” portfolio if his track record is just a couple internships at newspapers and that has a few editorial clients under his belt.

No one is going to hire you unless you have experience with the big industry players. And to get that experience, you have to give up your copyright…

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

I’m discovering that in this industry, just like in most industries, it’s not about what you know or how good you are, it’s about WHO you know that matters.

By: Tony Clark

Tony Clark — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:13:22 +0000

This story reminds me of the employees that were laid off by Microsoft. Microsoft had an equation to calculate the severance package and cut checks to the former employees. Unfortunately, there was an error in the employees favor and they sent out letters asking for the money back. After it was made public, MS decided to not pursue the money. In Getty’s case, it also appears to be greedy and adds insult to injury in regards to the recession and disappearing Stock sales. I fired my Stock Agency a year back because of their affiliation with Getty and the lopsided commission.

By: Debra Frieden

Debra Frieden — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:47:41 +0000

Ah the old typo excuse…….

By: doktor

doktor — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:58:10 +0000

hm I have only gotten 33 % since I signed up with getty all over the years and its similiar in Germany with the other big stock agencies – actually 50% or even the 40 % I get from the others would have been quite nice. I have to check but I dont even remember getting more for sales in Germany.

I actually would even be ok with the percentage if they would treat their photographers better. You just don’t get a feeling they care about the people whos images they sell.

Otherwise: Everybody hated the Roman Empire. Everybody hates Getty, – the photographers, the art directors, the picture editors but everybody works with them. What can you do – wait and hope that it goes down one day I guess.

By: Joseph Pobereskin

Joseph Pobereskin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:43:58 +0000

Surprise, surprise! Getty Images takes more of your money. What else is new?

By: Fotografi

Fotografi — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:11:14 +0000

I sold many strange images in all these years.
Some of them where shot inside my home, in the morning.
Those where the most profitable. I believe that you have to develop a vision. I don’t believe in Getty, Corbis and others agencies they are trying to make more money upon our shoulders but we can’t change the market, as photographer I try to be more flexible, during the last years a lot of my friends were surprised when I start a business based upon wedding photography (www.wedding-photographer.it) today I’m an happy man I have a little business a lot of happy clients and I can face the future without fears. I trying to have more money from agencies and to produce some new images and to open new markets.

By: Terence Patrick

Terence Patrick — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:57:57 +0000

So the photographers most impacted by that letter are the ones who are submitting editorial content, right? They’ve already been paid by someone else to shoot the image and now they’re just getting short-changed by Getty in the royalties of additional sales? Or is there more to this?

By: john mcd.

john mcd. — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:57:30 +0000

@Adam, these were e-mail, and then face-to-face, negotiations agreed to with a handshake. which it turns out didn’t mean anything because the guy who was doing the negotiation apparently didn’t understand the limits of his own authority when it came to changing percentages and not requiring their outrageous “home territory” versus “non-home territory” commission policy. We shook hands on a global 50-50 split on the material they wanted me to contribute.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:27:25 +0000

@john mcd., Isn’t that just out right illegal, to sign one contract, and then the company sends another? I’m surprised they are going to this low of a level to get contributions.

By: A Photo Editor

A Photo Editor — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:36:49 +0000

@Debra Weiss,
well yes but major photographers still get the better rates.

By: Debra Weiss

Debra Weiss — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:49:05 +0000

@A Photo Editor,

If that’s the case, it’s amazing. Major agencies switched years ago from 50/50 to 60/40 and sometimes even higher in favor of the agency.

By: A Photo Editor

A Photo Editor — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:38:36 +0000

@Doug,
ah crap I wrote it wrong it was 60/40 in favor of the photographers and it’s now 50/50.

By: Doug

Doug — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:18:39 +0000

I think the confusion is in the post itself. Getty is claiming 50/50, not 60/40 in favor of photographer. Doesn’t change the point of it though.

By: A Photo Editor

A Photo Editor — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:49:35 +0000

@Another Reader,
Well said.

By: Will Seberger

Will Seberger — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:10:05 +0000

@red, Make no mistake, I’m not a fan…

But it’s a great business model for them because there is an endless stream of photographers willing to work on those terms.

Somebody gets fed up and leaves (or never starts) and there are two or three people waiting to fill the spot.

By: matt

matt — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:56:44 +0000

No surprises here.

Sooner or later, you would hope that Getty falls on its face.

There is nothing about getty that is good for the photographer or photography.

It is the same problem of Flickr, quantitative v. qualitative.

I for one would never work with getty even if it meant less cash in the pocket.

It is time other photographers recognize how smarmy getty is.

By: newmediaphotogrpaher

newmediaphotogrpaher — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:04:52 +0000

@Michael Sebastian,

I was reading it as the reverse. I guess I’m too much of an optimist.

thanks for the clarification

Rosh