Stocksy, ‘a digital licensing co-op’ launches today. Founded by Bruce Livingstone, the man who bought the stock photo industry iStockphoto (which he sold to Getty Images in 2006), the platform offers a new concept for contributing photographers: ‘An online marketplace owned collectively by its photographer-members and dedicated to paying them the maximum fees possible for their work.’
The conception of Stocksy brings Livingstone full circle to the dawning days of iStockphoto—but this time, substantive royalties and member ownership are built into its design. “Photographers have never had this level of participation and control in the stock world,” he says. “We believe Stocksy represents an opportunity to change the industry permanently—and for the better.”
Stocksy was built out of his experience shaping the ground floor of the sector. Stocksy is a cooperative designed to respect the work of the artist and whose very system of shared ownership and profit sharing allows for real, sustainable careers for all participants in the marketplace.
Under its revolutionary model, photographers will receive a 50% royalty on each transaction and 100% on extended licenses; what’s more, 90% of all profits will be divided among members at year’s end. Photographers who are accepted into the co-op also receive equity and have a real say in how the business is operated.
When Getty acquired iStockphoto, it also acquired him. But Livingstone saw that the democratization that iStockPhoto brought to the marketplace didn’t go far enough. More innovation was required to bring fairness into the equation. The conception of Stocksy brings Livingstone full circle to the dawning days of iStockphoto—but this time, substantive royalties and member ownership are built into its design. “Photographers have never had this level of participation and control in the stock world,” he says. “We believe Stocksy represents an opportunity to change the industry permanently—and for the better.”
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PAN announcement Feb 8 2013: ‘Stocksy’ from the founder of iStockphoto – By invitation only