Art Buyers Survey

The results of the VisualSteam’s Annual Survey of Art Buyers has just been released. The 19-page report is packed with useful information that image creators and stock photo sellers need to know. Anyone trying to earn a living producing stock images should read this report. It is well worth the $49.95 fee.

DMLA members in good standing can receive a free copy by sending an email to sales@visualsteam.com If you are not a DMLA member send an email to the same address and they will supply instructions as how you may pay for your copy.

Each year VisualSteam sends an extensive survey to a few thousand leading art directors, graphic designer and other image buyers in the U.S. This year a very representative cross section of major industry buyers responded including 35% from Advertising/Design organizations, 18% Corporate users, 31% Publishers and 16% Other (education and non profits). The response was the largest ever.



Ninety-six percent of the respondents use stock imagery and 89% said they are part of a team that makes the final image selections.

Only 11% of respondents, license RM more frequently than traditional RF, Microstock or Subscription. I found this very interesting considering that this survey targeted major users and buyers of stock photography who are with organizations that certainly have the budgets to purchase RM photography if that is what they really want.



This was only one of the key findings and breakdowns of the overall data that can be found in the report.

Users were asked “For which license types do you mainly use imagery in four different licensing categories -- Microstock, Traditional RF, RM or Free?” The breakdowns are very enlightening and may surprise many image sellers.

While client say subscriptions are not an important purchase factor, the statistics of those who said they use subscriptions tell a different story. Regardless of whether you sell RM, traditional RF, or Microstock you need to consider the numbers in this report.



There is also a breakdown of the most needed subjects. Not surprisingly People/Lifestyles was number one. The survey doesn’t get into specifics of what buyers are looking for in this large category, but I believe most buyers are looking for images shot with good sets, props, locations and professional models. Given today’s usage fees many photographers are finding that they can no longer justify the expense of producing such imagery.

Agencies should carefully analyze their sales of this type of imagery over the last few years and consider whether there is anything they can do to encourage their top contributors to start producing more of this imagery.

There is an interesting comparison of the license types used most frequently. They asked the customers how they used certain categories of imagery: Microstock, Traditional Royalty Free, Rights Managed and Free Images. In each category there was a breakdown for Digital, Print, Video/TV, Display and Packaging. 50% of the RM images were used for some type of print, but Digital use lead all the other categories.

When asked which agency they use most frequently, it was somewhat surprising that Shutterstock was third after Getty Images and iStock despite the fact that Shutterstock generates more revenue than either Getty Images or iStock.  The first five “GoTo” agencies also include Alamy and Thinkstock. It is important to note that 3 of the 5 are Getty Images properties. Adobe Stock was 19th on the list, below many other much smaller agencies.