Earlier this week, we reported that Index Stock contributors have been telling Stock Artists Alliance (SAA) they are now receiving royalty payments that exactly match the statements they received from former comptroller Carlos Santos in November.
While true in some cases, Photolibrary CEO Glenn Parker says, "There are many instances where the statements were wrong (i.e. too high and in some instances even too low!"). He says the company is continuing its process of thoroughly checking the records and paying once they verify amounts owed.
In a letter to artists dated February 1, 2008 the company reported, "We are continuing to review pre acquisition Index Stock Imagery Inc royalty amounts. As advised previously the records were in disarray at the time of acquisition of the business by Photolibrary Group Inc."
Parker says the company has been paying pre acquisition commissions to artists on a monthly basis since takeover one year ago and will continue to do so: "Index had some 1,700 artists on its books at the time of acquisition. Some artists had upwards of 24 separate accounts each spread over a six-year period. Many hundreds of pre acquisition accounts that were easily reconciled were paid out over the last year. The company expects this process of reviewing pre acquisition balances due to take most of 2008 to complete. "
Parker added, "All post acquisition commissions due to artists and suppliers in respect of our North American businesses are up-to-date, irrespective of whether you have a contract via Indexstock Imagery Inc. (which is being provided ongoing funding by Photolibrary) or via Photolibrary Group Inc."
By the end of Q2 2008, the company expects to launch a facility that will enable artists to review and download their archive of past statements to confirm the previous payments sent them. Beginning in March, the company will provide artists either a monthly sales statement, or a notice that there was no activity on their account during the period.
It was also announced that the Web site www.indexstock.com would be closed in March and the approximately 180,000 high resolution images that were on the site will be transferred to the new www.photolibrary.com site. These images will be available through all Photolibrary offices in over 10 countries.
Prior to Photolibrary's acquisition of Index Stock, it had been Index's practice to make low resolution scans of most images it placed on its site. When a customer needed a larger file size, images were re-scanned. These images will not appear on the new site and will no longer be available for sale.
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