New York-based subscription agency Shutterstock has announced that its stock footage library has grown to 100,000 clips. The company has been growing its inventory at roughly 2,000 clips per week since its launch of a footage offering in 2006.
Citing last year’s “A2/M2 Three Screen Report” from the Nielsen Company, Shutterstock says that video consumption has reached new heights. Indeed, viewing audiences continue growing despite recession. Most of this growth, however, is in time-shift television viewing—up by 37% since late 2007—as DVRs continue in high consumer demand. Regular TV, Internet and mobile-device video consumption is up, but within a much smaller range of 1% to 3%.
Shutterstock says its video product is doing well. One contributor, London-based Jon Paul Careless, has amassed over 1,700 clips and says the resulting commissions will allow him to shoot stock full-time within a year. Shutterstock also ranked as the top producer of contributor commissions in a recent survey, outranking other microstock agencies, according to over half of the survey respondents.
While video consumption is certainly growing, it unclear whether or not the trend is the same for stock footage. Financial records of privately held companies are not available, and anecdotal information is conflicting at best. In addition to Shutterstock, there is some evidence that Getty Images’ footage sales are growing; however, iStockphoto has said its video business is flat as a result of a recessionary slowdown.