The following are a list of useful articles that will provide the reader with a good background on the current state of the stock photography business and where it is headed. The first article will provide you with the most up to date analysis. The other articles will provide additional perspective as to how the industry got to where it is now.
Stock Photo Market Size: 2010 10/26/2010
A Selling Stock subscriber recently asked, “Do you have any idea of what are the actual market shares of Getty and Corbis worldwide?” A lot of guess work is required to answer that question as there are no longer any numbers publicly available to help in such an analysis. Nevertheless, here goes.
Stock Photo Business Gets Smaller in 2009
9/14/2009
It’s time to revise previous industry estimates based on what has happened in the stock photo business in the past year. For several years I have estimated that the size of worldwide market for still images and illustrations at about $1.8 billion. I’ve also claimed that overall stock photography has been a no-growth business despite the fact that some companies and individuals could point to growth. Now, at the end of 2009 I believe gross revenue for the industry is no more than $1.45 billion and it will probably continue to decline. This story details how I arrived at this number.
How Big Is the Stock Photo Market in 2009 4/13/2009
I believe that worldwide customers pay a combined total of about $1.8
billion for still stock images and illustration annually. There has
been virtually no growth in this market in the last few of years. In
the fall of 2008 Corbis CEO Gary Shenk estimated that total 2007
revenue for the industry was $2.3 billion and predicted that it will
decline to $2.2 billion by 2012.
Stock Photo Industry Size – 2007 and 2008
8/20/2008
I believe the gross worldwide revenue that is generated from the licensing of stock imagery, both still photos and illustrations, is about $1.8 billion annually. This story explains in detail the process I went through to arrived at that number.
Market Size Revenue Analysis – May 2008 5/30/2008
This story provides a revenue analysis of the stock photo market in 2008 prior to the beginning of the recession. Story 2000 provides an analysis of the changes that have taken places as a result of the 2009 recession.