AGE has launched its "low-budget, royalty-free" (LBRF) model easyFotostock that it first outlined in October 2007. This new Web site is designed for customers who "want images of average quality, but are not prepared to pay RF or RM prices, as they neither need the quality, nor have the budget," according to Alfonzo Gutiarrez, CEO of ageFotostock. The images are priced at midstock levels: 20€, 40€, 60€ or 80€ (or $30, $50, $70 or $90 for the U.S. market) for 1MB, 6MB, 26MB or 50MB resolutions.
AGE has launched this site by moving all the images that have been part of its Pixtal RF collection since Dec. 31, 2005 but have not sold in the last two years or been part of any Pixtal CD-Rom.
AGE expects to make this site available within the age fotostock site, but so far, that feature has not been launched and it is only available as a separate, independent site. Client names developed through AGE's existing site will be shared with easyFotostock. All the functionalities of the e-commerce platform, lightboxes, Digital Access Management (DAM) back end will also be available to easyFotostock customers. The imagery will also be available to all 182 of age fotostock's distributors for marketing.
AGE's photographers have been notified that they may submit photos on a nonexclusive basis and this includes any photos the photographer may already be marketing non-exclusively through other sources. It is not clear from the information available, but it appears that AGE is prepared to accept images from microstock photographers and any other contributor, not just current AGE photographers. However, nothing has been said about how tightly submissions will be edited.