Shutterstock
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This article appears to be written like an advertisement. (December 2012) |
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| Type | Public |
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| Traded as | NYSE: SSTK |
| Industry | Stock photography and Stock footage |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder(s) | Jon Oringer |
| Headquarters | 60 Broad Street New York City, United States of America |
| Key people | Jon Oringer, (Founder, CEO), Thilo Semmelbauer, (President, COO), Tim Bixby, (Chief Financial Officer), Jim Chou, (Chief Technology Officer), Miles Williams, (VP of Marketing) |
| Website | shutterstock.com |
Shutterstock is a stock photography agency and global image marketplace headquartered in New York City. Shutterstock maintains a library of royalty-free stock photos, vectors, and illustrations available by subscription and a la carte. Visitors can browse the library for free, and can license and download images through a variety of packages. Shutterstock adds thousands of images to its library each day as photographers and illustrators from around the world submit their work. Each image undergoes a selection process based on quality, focus, aesthetics, artistry, and originality before being added to the collection. Shutterstock's library is searchable in 18 languages including French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Turkish. Shutterstock also offers royalty free video clips through its footage website. [1]
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History [edit]
Shutterstock was founded in 2003 by Jon Oringer. Oringer uploaded 30,000 of his own stock photos and made them available via subscription, forming the basis of the company.[2]
Shutterstock began selling stock video in February 2006, the first site of its kind to do so.[3] Originally a subscription site, Shutterstock expanded beyond subscriptions into a la carte purchase options in August of 2008.[4] On September 23, 2009, Shutterstock announced that it had purchased rival site Bigstock, a credit-based microstock photography agency. [5]
In February 2011, Shutterstock announced a two-year partnership with the AIGA, to provide creative inspiration to its members.[6] One year later, Shutterstock surpassed 200 million stock image downloads, making it the first stock agency to claim such a milestone. [7]
By April 2012, Shutterstock had more than 19 million royalty-free images and 500,000 royalty-free video clips available to subscribers, created by more than 35,000 photographers, illustrators, and videographers.[8][9] In June, 2012, Shutterstock surpassed 20 million images in its collection.[10]
In May 2012, Shutterstock filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, which it completed on October 17, 2012 under the ticker SSTK.[11][12]
On April 12, 2013, Shutterstock announced that it had reached 25 million images in its collection, and had sold over 300 million licenses since its founding in 2003. [13]
Customers [edit]
Shutterstock sells stock photos, stock vector graphics made in programs like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand, and stock raster illustrations created in 3d graphics programs or bitmap editors like Adobe Photoshop. Customers of stock imagery tend to be businesses, marketing agencies or media organizations.[14]
Customers may purchase either a 25-A-Day subscription and download up to 25 images per day (750 per month) in monthly increments, or purchase an On Demand package and choose a set amount of downloads to be used any time within a year. Subscribers may continue to use images even after their membership has expired. However, a subscriber can not stockpile, download, or otherwise store Images not used within six (6) months of the expiration of the subscription for a personal, commercial or a clients project under which you downloaded the Image. If the subscriber fails to use an Image within such six (6) month period, they lose all rights to use that Image. As of February 2009, the fee for a 25-A-Day subscription began at $249 per month.
Contributors [edit]
Contributing photographers must apply before they are eligible to upload their images. The applicants must submit 10 pictures that are screened for quality and suitability. At least 7 pictures must be approved for the contributor account to become active. Each image is reviewed by hand by Shutterstock's team of reviewers.
Once approved, contributors can begin uploading their work through the website. They supply keywords, categorize the images, and submit them to the "inspection queue," where each and every image is examined to ensure that it meets the standards of quality, usefulness and copyright and trademark laws. Each time an image is downloaded, the photographer receives a flat rate of 25c (with a tiered set of raises as the contributor reaches lifetime earnings of $500, $3,000, and $10,000, respectively). [15][16][17]
Footage [edit]
In April 2006, Shutterstock began offering royalty-free stock footage on their website. Shutterstock Footage operates similarly to their image library, offering video clips by subscription or on a per-clip basis. Shutterstock footage is available in a variety of formats, including DVCAM, HDCAM and Betacam. [18] Today, Shutterstock Footage contains over 1 million royalty-free video clips. [19] According to the company, more than 80% of their video clips are available in HD. [20]
Shutterstock for iPad [edit]
Shutterstock for iPad was launched in November, 2011, allowing creative professionals to browse millions of images via iPad. The app is available in the app store (iOS). [21][22] In May of 2012, Shutterstock for iPad received a Webby Award for People's Voice in the tablet app category for utilities and services.[23]
Shutterstock Labs [edit]
In 2012, Shutterstock launched Shutterstock Labs, a site which contains Shutterstock Instant and Shutterstock Spectrum. Both are search tools developed to improve search functionality for Shutterstock customers.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ http://footage.shutterstock.com
- ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204883304577221273401669372.html
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/020906.mhtml
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/080508.mhtml
- ^ Stephen Shankland "Shutterstock Buys Rival, Shifts Photo Sales Strategy", CNET, September 23, 2009
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/021511.mhtml
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/020112.mhtml
- ^ Shutterstock.com – Stats released on image website
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/040612.mhtml
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2012/06/21/NY28559
- ^ http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1549346/000104746912005905/a2209364zs-1.htm
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/2012/10/shutterstock-celebrates-at-the-new-york-stock-exchange/
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/041213.mhtml
- ^ http://investor.shutterstock.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251362&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2FwaS50ZW5rd2l6YXJkLmNvbS9maWxpbmcueG1sP2lwYWdlPTg1MDQ4NTAmRFNFUT0wJlNFUT0wJlNRREVTQz1TRUNUSU9OX0VOVElSRSZzdWJzaWQ9NTc%3d#da47301_business
- ^ Eric A. Taub, "When Are Photos Like Penny Stocks? When They Sell", New York Times, June 5, 2007
- ^ Kate Torgovnik "Make Money", Time Out NY, January 22, 2009
- ^ Taylor Buley, "A Snappy Way to Make Money In Stock", Forbes, September 2, 2008
- ^ Tom Skowronski, "Shutterstock Footage", Videomaker, November 4, 2008
- ^ Shutterstock.com – Stats released on footage website
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/040612.mhtml
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/110211.mhtml
- ^ http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/11/03/shutterstock-brings-its-16-million-images-to-the-ipad-with-a-dedicated-app/
- ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?media_id=127&season=16
- ^ http://www.shutterstock.com/releases/053112.mhtml
- ^ http://investor.shutterstock.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251362&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1798950&highlight=
