Getty Images has launched its Flickr Collection – a set of images from the photo sharing community available for licence through the Getty Images site
The Flickr Collection features images selected by Getty’s photo editors “based on their expertise in licensing digital content and insights into customers’ needs,” according to a press release. Their choices major on “a variety of conceptual imagery, such as everyday scenes and believable subjects, and original and regionally relevant content”. New images will be added each month.
There are more details on the selection process on Getty’s Creative Blog, but none regarding payment terms. However, when the deal was first announced last year, it was reported that Flickr photographers would “be paid in the same manner as professionals if their images are used commercially”. That would mean that photographers would receive 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the licensing fee for limited use, or 20 percent if the image may be used with fewer restrictions.
PDN Online tried out the Collection and found it pretty pricey. For a shot of “Mount Hood seen from an airplane”, to be used half page on a website for five years the price was $2,070. A dedicated Flickr message board has more details of how things work.
Of course, if you want to use Flickr images, you could always go direct to the photographer (as we have often done in order to use images in CR), in which case they would receive 100% of the fee. You can’t do this with images in the Getty Flickr Collection though as Getty demands exclusivity over not just the images featured but also those that are substantially similar (see comments below). But there’s no doubt that the sheer volume of traffic that Getty attracts on its site, the idea that their team has filtered a collection to provide only those images that people are likely to use and the security and trust element that comes from having Getty manage the licensing/quality etc could prove an attractive model for image buyers.
This story has been updated
