A reader recently sent me an email saying, “I read somewhere that you have recently said that the market size is going to be at $5 billion during 2013.”
NO!!!
I did not say the market size would be $5 billion during 2013. I don't believe it. In my opinion that number has no relation whatsoever to current reality in the stock photography market.
In Shutterstock's recent S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission they made the following statement about market size by 2013.
“According to BCC research, the market for pre-shot commercial digital imagery is expected to exceed $5 billion in 2013, primarily driven by demand from businesses, marketing agencies and media organizations.”
(This was based on a BBC research analysis done in 2008 and was repeated several times in the filing.)
BBC Research and Consulting is a very respected firm that does economic, market and policy research. I have no idea how they arrived at this number, but based on my analysis this number has NO BASIS IN REALITY.
I estimated worldwide sales of still images and illustration in 2011 at $1.445 billion -- not anything near $5 billion. (See
here.) Getty 2011 sales (See
here) tends to support my analysis. Based on recent 2011 figures received, and potential growth, I would put gross revenue for 2012 will be $1.6 billion at the outside.
Earlier this year a survey by The Association of Commercial Stock Image Licensors (ACSIL) estimated the size of the
stock footage market at $394 million. Based on what most of the major stock footage companies like Getty Images, Corbis, iStockphoto, Pond5 and Thriving Archives are generating I think this revenue figure is a little high, but for the purposes of this discussion I will accept it.
This means that
At The Outside the combined revenue generated from the worldwide sale of still imagery, illustration and footage will be
less than $2 billion at the end of 2012.