Gary Shenk, new Presi of Corbis, in an interview:
Chris Ferrone: What’s your take on the micro-stock phenomenon? Where, if at all, does micro-stock fit into Corbis’ plans?
Gary Shenk: Looking at the industry over-all, micro-stock is a very small part of the business, but growing fast. Corbis has most of our business at the higher end of the market and as a result we haven’t felt a huge hit from micro. We know only a few of our customers also use micro-sites. Most of our customers want greater quality and rights protection than the micro sites are able to provide.
While I believe micro-stock will continue to grow I don’t believe it will evolve into a huge market anytime soon or have a cataclysmic effect on our industry. The “scary math” will apply to a certain low end of the customer base, but at the same time it potentially brings new customers into the market who have never bought pictures before. It’s also an interesting way to source photography — a way to find the next great stock photographer and pull them up to higher price points. It becomes the “farm club” of the future.
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