Getty: Overview
This note considers Getty Images, one of the dominant image libraries.
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It covers -
- introduction
- development
- studies
- landmarks
Introduction
Getty Images is a dominant image library. It licenses still and moving images to book and magazine publishers, advertisers, broadcasters, film and multimedia developers.
Its library includes around 70 million still images (including the UK Hulton photo archive and Stone Images) and 30,000 hours of film.
Revenue in 2000 was around US$500 million. In 2003 it reported profits of US$64 million on revenue of US$523 million, up from US$21.5 million on revenue of US$463 million in 2002.
The group has roughly 2,400 employees and is probably best known in Australia for services provided by its PhotoDisc and The Image Bank arms.
Its corporate site is here.
Development
The group was founded by Mark Getty and independent of the Getty Foundation established by his oil billionaire grandfather.
In 2001 it announced that it was close to selling Art.com, its online retail operation. Art.com was established in 1997 as Artuframe, to sell limited edition prints, photographs and posters using the Amazon.com model. Contrary to local opinions that a 'generic' domain name is a licence to print money, shedding the clunky Artuframe name in favour of something catchier didn't result in overwhelming success.
It was acquired by Getty in 1999 (for around US$110 million) to serve as a B2C unit but revenue's proved elusive in the face of online and offline competition. Rivals such as Eyestorm (now repositioning itself as an offline retailer), Artnet.com and eArtGroup were also doing poorly.
In 2000 Getty paid United News & Media US$225 million for Visual Communications Group (VCG).
VCG encompassed four major brands, licensing images in separate geographic regions: Telegraph Colour Library in the United Kingdom, FPG in the United States, Bavaria Bildagentur in Germany and Pix in France. VCG also distributes in other markets through third party agents. VCG specialty image collections including Giraudon (a Paris-based fine art library), Planet Earth (natural history), Space Frontiers (space imagery) and Colorific (celebrity news and features agency). VCG had acquired Definitive Stock - a Seattle-based provider of royalty-free online images - in 1999 for US$20 million.
In 2006 Getty acquired bought Calgary-based stock photo company iStockphoto for US$50 million. iStockPhoto originated in 2000 as a venue for designers to swap images, subsequently establishing a credit system through which users could license use of an image for C$1. In January 2006 it relaunched its web site, with high-resolution images priced at C$5, medium at $3 and low-res at $1. It also licenses illustrations and runs a higher-priced spin-off called iStockPro. The company boasted that the acquisition demonstrates that Getty Images recognizes, supports and embraces the power of the culture of participation that is sweeping the Web and is continuing to implement its stated strategy of serving image buyers at all price points on all platforms and in all markets.
Studies
There has been no major study of Getty Images.
Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only.
Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline and highlights of the photo agency industry.
1938 Edward G Hulton launches Picture Post magazine, establishes Hulton Picture Library as photo archive
1958 BBC buys Hulton
1968 Allsport photo agency founded
1969 Tony Stone Images founded
1984 BBC buys photo libraries of Express and Evening Standard newspapers
1987 London Daily Telegraph newspaper sells Telegraph Collection Library
1988 BBC sells Hulton to cable entrepreneur Brian Deutsch for £1.5m
1994 United Newspapers buys stock image library Visual Communications Group for £27m
1995 Getty Investment Holdings takes 80% stake in Tony Stone Images
1996 Getty Communications floated on Nasdaq with value of US$154m
1996 Carlton buys 10% stake for £17m
1996 Getty buys Hulton Deutsch Collection for £8.6m
1997 buys Fabulous Footage for US$2.5m
1997 buys WorldView agency for US$2.7m
1997 buys Gamma Liaison for US$9.4m
1997 Getty Communications buys PhotoDisc of the US and becomes Getty Images
1997 buys Liaison Agency
1997 buys Energy Film Library for US$17.5m
1997 buys Hong Kong-based Profile Photo Library
1998 buys Allsport for £29.4m
1998 buys Fototeca Stone
1998 buys Imageways
1998 buys Australian Image Library and Australian Sporting Pix
1999 buys The Image Bank from Eastman Kodak for US$183m
1999 buys Art.com for around US$110m
1999 buys Newsmakers
1999 Visual Communications Group (VCG) buys Definitive Stock for US$20m
1999 Getty buys American Royal Arts
1999 buys EyeWire typography and business image collection for US$32m
1999 buys Online USA
2000 United Business Media sells VCG to Getty for US$225m
2000 Getty buys i/us for US$2.5m
2002 lists on New York Stock Exchange
2003 buys ImageDirect music, entertainment and fashion photography
2004 announces agreement with Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) and Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) to create unified Major League Baseball (MLB) image archive
2005 buys US and European operations of leading Japanese online photo stock company Amana for US$51m
2006 pays US$50m for iStockphoto.com
2006 acquires Ireland-based Pixel Images Holdings (inc Stockdisc and Stockbyte, Getty's largest image partner) for US$135m