Getty Images is an American photo agency that owns one of the largest image banks in the world: about 70 million photos. Images are provided to customers based on both paid (Rights Managed) and free (Royalty Free) licensing. In early March 2014, Getty Images announced the release of most of its images for free use [1] .
Content
History
- 1993 - foundation of the company
- 2004 - the company acquired the image.net website for $ 20 million.
- 2006 - purchase of iStockphoto microstock photobank, costing $ 50 million.
- 2007 - the company absorbed MediaVast’s main competitor, which cost it $ 207 million, gaining control of some small photo agencies.
- 2009 - The company completed the takeover of Jupiterimages, announced in 2008. Acquisition price - $ 96 million
Since 2008, the owner of Getty Images has been the Hellman & Friedman Investment Fund. In August 2012, it was announced that the current owners agreed to sell a controlling stake in the photobank to the Carlyle Group investment fund for $ 3.3 billion (while the chairman of the photobank’s board of directors Mark Getty, the Getty family and CEO Jonathan Klein will have to get small shares in company) [2] .
Company founder Mark Getty is the grandson of the world's richest man in 1957-1976, Paul Getty .
Activities
According to 2003 data, Getty Images conducted operations in 50 countries, with an annual turnover of $ 462 million [3] .
Since 2001 Getty Images has been represented in Russia and the CIS by Fotobank. In April 2015, Getty Images terminated its partnership with Fotobank and opened its own office in Moscow.
Free Access
In March 2014, the company announced the transfer of 35 million of its images (out of more than 70 million) for free access for non-commercial use. Images can be uploaded via the Embed network application, acting on the same principle as YouTube and Flickr [1] .
See also
- Stock photography
- Microstock Photography
- Photobank
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Getty Images makes much of its photo portfolio free to use
- ↑ The world's largest photo agency Getty Images sold for $ 3.3 billion to the Carlyle Group investment fund . // gazeta.ru. Date of treatment August 15, 2012. Archived on August 19, 2012.
- ↑ Image - everything . // sostav.ru with reference to Vedomosti. Date of treatment August 15, 2012. Archived on August 19, 2012.