Author Topic: Confirmed: VCG will acquire Corbis (Read 17842 times)

williamju · « **on:** January 22, 2016, 06:13 »

VCG (Visual China Group), a public stock photo agency, and also the sole distributor of Getty Images in mainland China, will acquire Corbis

http://www.tukusheying.com/info/es_t_20160122063839.html

the file just disclosed in stock exchange website and I made the screen snapshot as shown in above link

cobalt · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2016, 06:28 »

Interesting!

Newsfocus1 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2016, 09:37 »

Here's a link to the official Corbis press release. It will be interesting to see what the new owners do with Veer.
http://corporate.corbis.com/uk/news/press-releases/2016/affiliate-of-visual-china-group-acquires-assets-of-corbis-images/

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:23 »

That didn't take long. Everyone got the "Corbis, VCG, Getty Images & You!" email?

Fun

The FAQ link doesn't work, so good start

cathyslife · « **Reply #4 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:27 »

Just got an email:

Quote

Corbis, VCG, Getty Images & You!
Today Corbis is announcing the sale of the Corbis Images (excluding Splash), Corbis Motion, and Veer licensing businesses to Unity Glory International, an affiliate of the Visual China Group (VCG), a leading Chinese visual communications and new media business.

In connection with this transaction, VCG is excited to announce the expansion of its longstanding partnership with Getty Images, and, following a transition period (which we’ll explain in more detail), Getty Images will become the exclusive distributor of Corbis content outside China.

As a valued contributor, we want to be sure you understand what these announcements mean for you and your content and the opportunities they represent for you going forward.

As part of this transaction, your existing Corbis agreements have transferred to VCG, however in practical terms nothing changes for the time being. The Corbis sites, licensing and royalties processes will continue to operate as they do today.

Over the coming months, select content from the Corbis collections will be identified and invitations will be extended to you for migration of those files to Getty Images. For those of you whose content is selected who do not currently work directly with Getty Images, you will be offered a direct contract that will apply to migrated content and any new submissions you choose to make going forward to Getty Images. If your content is selected and you are already contracted to Getty Images, you will be offered an assignment letter to move content selected for migration to your existing Getty Images’ agreement.

During this transition period, all content will continue to be available through Corbis, and, as it’s migrated, content will also become available through Getty Images. Content that is not migrated to Getty Images will either continue to be represented by VCG, or distribution rights will be returned to contributors.

We’re very excited to represent your great content and look forward to expanding its reach through the unparalleled global sales and distribution network of Getty Images to almost one million customers in nearly 200 countries.

We’ll be sharing more specifics on the migration process over the coming weeks, but in the meantime please refer to our FAQ for additional details.

The FAQ link in the email doesn't work either. Nice.

alison1414 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:29 »

Is anyone as nervous about this as I am? I'm thinking of deleting my images and my account. I mean China?!?

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #6 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:30 »

Looks like Getty is going to set up a new collection for Corbis content. I wonder what is going to happen to the stuff on Veer specifically? I can only think they could offer it on IStock/ Thinkstock given the micro price point, so it will soon be time to delete my Veer portfolio. I am sure they will be paying out as a partner site to VGC i.e. paying even less than standard IS/ TS rates

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #7 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:31 »

http://corporate.corbis.com/news/press-releases/2016/getty-images-and-visual-china-group-partner-in-exclusive-global-distribution-partnership-for-extensive-visual-content-collection-of-corbis-images/

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:31 »

Quote from: alison1414 on January 22, 2016, 11:29

Is anyone as nervous about this as I am? I'm thinking of deleting my images and my account. I mean China?!?

"China" is the least of my worries. "Getty" is of more concern

alison1414 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 22, 2016, 11:49 »

I am deleting right now. Veer is pathetic pay anyway,

w7lwi · « **Reply #10 on:** January 22, 2016, 12:17 »

I sent a request to Veer at the end of last year to delete my account and remove all images. I received a boiler plate message back that my request had been received. To date, nothing seems to have changed. My account is still open and all images still up. Is there something else I should do?

sweetgirll · « **Reply #11 on:** January 22, 2016, 13:12 »

Guys,

I haven't received any payment this year, I didn't reach the payout probably.

Are our contracts already under a Chinese agreement or under Getty? I don't understand.

The email says "As part of this transaction, your existing Corbis agreements have transferred to VCG, however in practical terms nothing changes for the time being.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2016, 13:25 »

I thought this meant our Veer content would go to Getty. They said in the Istock announcement that Getty would be distributing the Corbis content outside of China. I was hoping this was my ticket onto the Getty site. You think not?

sharpshot · « **Reply #13 on:** January 22, 2016, 13:54 »

I bet our microstock images end up on istock or thinkstock. I removed all my best images from istock but it seems pointless as they will probably end up getting them from some other site. Think I will wait and see what happens.

Karen · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2016, 14:47 »

Quote from: Justanotherphotographer on January 22, 2016, 11:31

Quote from: alison1414 on January 22, 2016, 11:29
Is anyone as nervous about this as I am? I'm thinking of deleting my images and my account. I mean China?!?
"China" is the least of my worries. "Getty" is of more concern

The microstock market is heading Getty/SS/Adobe control?

emjaysmith · « **Reply #15 on:** January 22, 2016, 15:14 »

Looks as if I will be deleting my content yet again to keep it off IS/Getty
I think that will make three.

cobalt · « **Reply #16 on:** January 22, 2016, 15:19 »

Quote from: Karen on January 22, 2016, 14:47

Quote from: Justanotherphotographer on January 22, 2016, 11:31
Quote from: alison1414 on January 22, 2016, 11:29
Is anyone as nervous about this as I am? I'm thinking of deleting my images and my account. I mean China?!?
"China" is the least of my worries. "Getty" is of more concern

The microstock market is heading Getty/SS/Adobe control?

The whole stock market, macro too.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #17 on:** January 22, 2016, 16:02 »

It's not news that Jonathan Klein is a miserable [delete lots of bad words & thoughts], but this tweet about the Corbis acquisition is just hateful:

https://twitter.com/JonathanDKlein/status/690559911252471808

"Almost 21 years but got it. Lovely to get the milk, the cream, cheese, yoghurt and the meat without buying the cow."

And some news coverage

http://time.com/4190784/image-licensing-war-is-over/
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/corbis-sale-to-chinese-company-may-be-boon-to-getty/
https://photoarchivenews.com/2016/01/22/corbis-sold-to-visual-china-group
http://slippedisc.com/2016/01/breaking-bill-gates-sells-his-picture-library-to-china/
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/bill-gates-sells-corbis-images-to-visual-china-group-which-strikes-distribution-deal-with-getty/
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d6fbcb88-c126-11e5-846f-79b0e3d20eaf.html#axzz3y0lETNyH
http://www.pdnonline.com/news/Getty-to-Distribute-Corbis-Images-for-New-Corbis-Owner-15566.shtml

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #18 on:** January 22, 2016, 16:34 »

Sure does give a good look into his mind about how he views the business

cobalt · « **Reply #19 on:** January 22, 2016, 16:45 »

How will Adobe and Shutterstock react?

Karen · « **Reply #20 on:** January 22, 2016, 16:49 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 22, 2016, 16:02

It's not news that Jonathan Klein is a miserable [delete lots of bad words & thoughts], but this tweet about the Corbis acquisition is just hateful:

https://twitter.com/JonathanDKlein/status/690559911252471808

"Almost 21 years but got it. Lovely to get the milk, the cream, cheese, yoghurt and the meat without buying the cow."

This guy makes me sick

Disgusting!

sharpshot · « **Reply #21 on:** January 22, 2016, 17:03 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 22, 2016, 16:45

How will Adobe and Shutterstock react?

I doubt it will make much difference to them. They were competing with Veer and they are down in the low earners in the poll here.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #22 on:** January 22, 2016, 17:08 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 22, 2016, 16:45

How will Adobe and Shutterstock react?

The historical stuff is a great collection, but in terms of day-to-day earnings, I'm betting it's not that big a deal. SS had been pursuing Getty's corporate clients for a while, and I don't think this will make any difference to that.

Adobe is so far behind both Getty and SS that their card is the integration with CC, which I'm guessing won't pan out to be a game changer for them. So they have 45 million images and can't really compete with either Getty or SS before the Corbis acquisition.

oooo · « **Reply #23 on:** January 22, 2016, 20:59 »

What a hassle, what happens with all the pp ?

http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/a-list-of-partner-programs/

If i may quote JAS:

Some agencies (like Veer) pay you a fixed amount per download regardless of what the partner charged the buyer, which is sometimes a lot more than the price paid via Veer. Veer also won't give contributors a list of the companies they partner with or let contributors opt out of partner sales (why I left Veer. IMO it's a terrible arrangement for contributors).

Do you get all pp images off after leaving?

btw .. is there a list of partner programms of the partners of partners of partners etc .. yes how funny

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #24 on:** January 22, 2016, 22:41 »

Another photographer who has friends with Corbis said there were a lot of pink slips given out today - everyone but the execs. Don't have anything in print - asked the Seattle Times and they said they haven't been able to find any details yet. If anyone want to talk with them, they'd love to hear from someone.

MacHeath · « **Reply #25 on:** January 23, 2016, 01:47 »

Help needed on this corbis/getty thing:

I've been on Corbis for 14 months (and ONLY corbis), using my dad's old photojournalism work (editorial content), with some modest success.

This takeover has me very nervous, since I've heard so much about Getty paying pennies to contributors (using their subscription approach, partners, etc.). I'm trying to sort out whether it is really that bad. Trying to decide whether to delete the portfolio from Corbis (and how does one do that anyway?) and try to use other stock companies (slim pickins for editorial content of this type), or move to Getty (assuming I am asked) and hope for the best.

I know that only I can decide this, but any other viewpoints or insights are really needed here. This is causing me much turmoil.

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #26 on:** January 23, 2016, 02:12 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 22, 2016, 16:02

It's not news that Jonathan Klein is a miserable [delete lots of bad words & thoughts], but this tweet about the Corbis acquisition is just hateful:

https://twitter.com/JonathanDKlein/status/690559911252471808

"Almost 21 years but got it. Lovely to get the milk, the cream, cheese, yoghurt and the meat without buying the cow."
.....

What a fantasist. Has he looked at his books lately? Getty doesn't even own Getty anymore.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 23, 2016, 02:50 »

I'm on Veer the site has been dead for months so I'm struggling to see what the downside could be.......on the other hand is there an upside?

U11 · « **Reply #28 on:** January 23, 2016, 14:34 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on January 23, 2016, 02:50

I'm struggling to see what the downside could be

VCG is Visual China Group and my experience with copyright enforcement in china is negative. I am also not very optimistic regarding business transparency

Karen · « **Reply #29 on:** January 23, 2016, 17:04 »

Quote from: Justanotherphotographer on January 23, 2016, 02:12

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 22, 2016, 16:02
It's not news that Jonathan Klein is a miserable [delete lots of bad words & thoughts], but this tweet about the Corbis acquisition is just hateful:

https://twitter.com/JonathanDKlein/status/690559911252471808

"Almost 21 years but got it. Lovely to get the milk, the cream, cheese, yoghurt and the meat without buying the cow."
.....
What a fantasist. Has he looked at his books lately? Getty doesn't even own Getty anymore.

He was dreaming about it for 21 years? Well... $:-\$

trek · « **Reply #30 on:** January 24, 2016, 12:59 »

I'm eager to find out what they're going to do with Veer. Hopefully they will be proactive and improve the sites functionality for customers and contributors. Hopefully they will add other improvements like a partner program opt out and upload self delete function.

I've decided to stop uploading until I learn what their plans are. No sense investing additional time until I have the information needed to decide if my portfolio is staying or leaving.

Freedom · « **Reply #31 on:** January 24, 2016, 13:15 »

Getty will distribute VCG images outside China, therefore Getty controls Corbis images to a certain degree. I think this is what he meant.

stock-will-eat-itself · « **Reply #32 on:** January 24, 2016, 14:45 »

Trouble for SS's corporate accounts, now way can they offer the same breadth of images as Getty now.

Can't see how Offset will survive this in the next few years.

cobalt · « **Reply #33 on:** January 24, 2016, 14:53 »

A lot of the content on getty and corbis is very old. Unless you really need images of people holding brick smartphones, offset will always have the advantage that it is a more modern collection. They can also supply volume from the 700 000 files a week from Shutterstock if they want and still be more up to date.

The main advantage I see is gettys editorial section.

That is a huge market of buyers that need fresh content every day and of course they also buy their creative content on getty because it is a one stop shop.

At least with photos they can offer the whole package.

Video is different, a lot of good video content is not on getty because they don't pay enough.

We will see what Shutterstock and Adobe will do. Both have much better software skills and a lot more money to spend on development and marketing.

stock-will-eat-itself · « **Reply #34 on:** January 24, 2016, 17:44 »

It's a myth that the Getty and Corbis collections are stagnating, plenty pro shooters providing lots of contemporary content. The micro libraries are more at risk of stagnation with no editorial control and endless carbon copies of the same themes.

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #35 on:** January 24, 2016, 21:21 »

Quote from: stock-will-eat-itself on January 24, 2016, 17:44

It's a myth that the Getty and Corbis collections are stagnating, plenty pro shooters providing lots of contemporary content. The micro libraries are more at risk of stagnation with no editorial control and endless carbon copies of the same themes.

Yes the old editorial from Getty and Corbis is a big exclusive collection. How many people want that over endless modern carbon copies? Two different markets, don't bother to compare old editorial against new RF Micro. I don't think this will change anything I have for sale, it's mostly old archives, low demand.

zorba · « **Reply #36 on:** January 24, 2016, 23:29 »

Quote from: Justanotherphotographer on January 22, 2016, 11:23

That didn't take long. Everyone got the "Corbis, VCG, Getty Images & You!" email?

Fun

The FAQ link doesn't work, so good start

it works for me
http://www.corbisimages.com/content/corbisfaq/

but they didn't cite Veer contributors clearly.

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #37 on:** January 25, 2016, 03:14 »

Yup. It's up now.

cobalt · « **Reply #38 on:** January 25, 2016, 04:30 »

Quote from: stock-will-eat-itself on January 24, 2016, 17:44

It's a myth that the Getty and Corbis collections are stagnating, plenty pro shooters providing lots of contemporary content. The micro libraries are more at risk of stagnation with no editorial control and endless carbon copies of the same themes.

I is not about comparing getty macro and the micros, but Offset and Getty or if Offset can offer their customers a valuable, hand picked collection.

The macros always have better quality content because they also select by style. On Getty especially they have many differently themed and very well put together collections that save the customer a lot of time.

However the pro shooters for macro don´t provide the fresh volume and choice you can finde on the micros. That is why the istock exclusive collection like vetta were so successful. Very high quality, very fresh, lots of providers from around the world, much more modern than the regular collection on getty.

It is also the reason Getty works with so many partners, takes content from blendimages, tetra etc...because their own shooters don´t provide enough volume and variety of content.

I don´t know the percentages, but I wouldn´t be surprised if the majority of content you see on getty comes from outside sources, they are more like a marketplace than just an agency.

Nothing wrong with that and if it was run in a different way, i would be applauding them and hoping they become the next ebay or amazon. Actually I did believe they would at one time...but then...anyway...

The successful content on the micros is being produced by the exact same studios that provide the macros, there is no big difference. You just have to look much harder on the mciros because their collections are not filtered.

But Getty also provides their customers with options, where they can have all content from both micro and macro included. So even as an indie I can (rarely) have gettyimages sales.

Offset and Adobe have the same artists like Getty and Corbis. But with more money for development and marketing, I wouldn´t be surprised if they build something really interesting.

But for Getty this deal is very helpful for negotiating fresh money and give themselves maybe another year of survival. Because with those horrible debts, they are still severely restricted in what they can do.

Personally I wouldn´t mind if all three - Adobe, getty, SS all survive as marketplaces and develop their own unique advantages. I think the world is big enough and as an artist I appreciate choice to stay independent.

bunhill · « **Reply #39 on:** January 25, 2016, 05:51 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 25, 2016, 04:30

You just have to look much harder on the mciros because their collections are not filtered.

I spent much of last week, on and off, looking for potential icons. Finally I gave gave up. The biggest issues - keyword spam and out of date style from the skeuomorphic era. Or, worse, comedy.

It's a while since I searched for photos - but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good icons under the mountain of old fashioned spammed content. It's as if the sites have given up putting the contemporary stuff in front of the search or editing the keywords for relevance.

cobalt · « **Reply #40 on:** January 25, 2016, 05:58 »

I aree and i don´t understand why they are not working on crowd based collection building. I would then just subscribe to my favorite collector the way i subscribe to someones feed on pininterest. Saves me a lot of time and some people just love going through all the new stuff.

Actually I am surprised Adobe hasn´t bought pininterest yet. Getty would need a partner to do it for them like with corbis, they wouldn´t have the funds to do it themselves.

bunhill · « **Reply #41 on:** January 25, 2016, 06:17 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 25, 2016, 05:58

Actually I am surprised Adobe hasn´t bought pininterest yet.

Pinterest is never going to be about selling images. It's potentially about using images to sell actual stuff - but mostly it is about propagating brand awareness. And the margins, if they exist, are going to be incredibly thin. Adobe, by contrast, still has an actual business.

Quote from: cobalt on January 25, 2016, 05:58

i don´t understand why they are not working on crowd based collection building.

The era when this might have had investor potential has long since passed.

cobalt · « **Reply #42 on:** January 25, 2016, 06:44 »

Quote from: bunhill on January 25, 2016, 06:17

Quote from: cobalt on January 25, 2016, 05:58
i don´t understand why they are not working on crowd based collection building.

The era when this might have had investor potential has long since passed.

But the need for it is greater than ever....I mean with 1 billion images all stock agencies will collapse by themselves. The need to crowdsource the editing is the next logical challenge ad whoever comes up with the best concept will be the leading agency in the future.

And yes, obviously pininterest in its current form is not an image marketplace, but it can utilised in an intelligent way if someone tries to think creatively. There are sometimes businesspeople who can think beyond what is already there...people with vision...

bunhill · « **Reply #43 on:** January 25, 2016, 07:20 »

I agree about the need for well curated content. I disagree that Pinterest or old fashioned crowdsourcing is a viable route. The agencies need a handful of great curators - not a plethora or people working for peanuts. Quality suppliers will have great curators. That's about a return to a world of small teams of people who are paid properly and know their suppliers.

The sort of person who might be a great curator might very likely be active on tumblr or Pinterest. The same as creative people often use these as a way of gathering and storyboarding ideas. But that does not mean that Pinterest is a solution per se. And the business of selling images is not ripe for major investment in this economy.

cobalt · « **Reply #44 on:** January 25, 2016, 07:55 »

The whole point of crowd sourcing is to allow the talent to rise to the top. It is not about everybody doing the same amount of work or spreading everything evenly over 100 million people.

That is how microstock works, everyone can join, everyone can learn how to contribute but only a few people have the necessary skills and talent to become great stock artists. many professional photographers fail, because they don´t have all the necessary skills.

A crowd based curation model will only work if there is also a payment system connected to sales. Because people need to create useful galleries of content that is commercially attractive.

But the crowd has all kinds of people - doctors, engineers,scientists, gardeners, fashion designers,restaurant owners. People who make a living from subjects other than photography and thus have great expertise in their given field.

The typical editor is not an expert on the modern oil drilling industry or the latest trends in local folk dance. There are too many professions, languages and cultures in the world. Even the largest agencies don´t have editors for every subject.

And of course the subscribers to the galleries play an important role. The professional oil drilling engineer will immediatly recognize that a gallery of boring looking images is actually really useful and has authentic content, while the artistic editor will maybe collect drilling plattforms with sunsets...

After all this was one of the reasons microstock was so successful, not just because it is cheaper, but because it has a lot more niche and localized content, shot by real people who work in these industries.

You remove the middle man/woman and let the market interact with itself.

But you need a very and intelligent software infrastructure and also a forum or area where buyers and collectors can interact.

The money made all the difference in stock. We learnt what is actually USEFUL for the customer, as opposed to shooting what we believe is fun.

It will also be the money that makes the difference in curation.

Anyway, it is an exciting challenge and we can just sit back and watch to see what they come up with.

bunhill · « **Reply #45 on:** January 25, 2016, 08:28 »

Investors are increasingly tired of hearing about "crowdsourcing" && build-it-and-they-will-come cargo cult scenarios.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #46 on:** January 25, 2016, 09:45 »

Quote from: w7lwi on January 22, 2016, 12:17

I sent a request to Veer at the end of last year to delete my account and remove all images. I received a boiler plate message back that my request had been received. To date, nothing seems to have changed. My account is still open and all images still up. Is there something else I should do?

Under article X. of the Contributor Agreement you have the right to terminate the contract with 30 days' notice, so if you wrote at the year end your portfolio should disappear any time now.

This deal is too shady for me, with the portfolios being shunted out to God knows how at an unknown commission rate or sale price, so I've just told them to drop me. I sent them this message which might be a handy template if others want to follow suit (not that I have taken any legal guidance on the wording):

Dear Sir or Madam,
In accordance with article X. of the Contributor Agreement I hereby notify you that I am terminating the contract between us with effect from 30 days after the date of this e-mail (Jan 25, 2016). Please ensure that my portfolio is removed from your site and any associated sites on or before the due date.

I would be grateful if the balance of my earning could be sent to my Payoneer address.

The relevant part of the contract says:
X. Term and Termination
A. Contributor may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing Veer with thirty (30) days notice by using the Contact Us page to provide notice to Veer or byfollowing the written notice provision below.
.........

D. Upon termination of this Agreement:
(i) Veer will remove your Content from the Site within a thirty (30) day period, and
will use reasonable efforts to cause Content to be removed from the Sites of any affiliates and partners within sixty (60) days from the removal from the Site, provided, however, that Veer may retain a copy of your Content for archival and record-keeping purposes

There may be other relevant stuff in the agreement, I haven't ploughed through it all, just found the escape clause and wrote to them.

stock-will-eat-itself · « **Reply #47 on:** January 25, 2016, 10:28 »

Quote from: bunhill on January 25, 2016, 07:20

I agree about the need for well curated content. I disagree that Pinterest or old fashioned crowdsourcing is a viable route. The agencies need a handful of great curators - not a plethora or people working for peanuts. Quality suppliers will have great curators. That's about a return to a world of small teams of people who are paid properly and know their suppliers.

That is exactly what macro agencies do now. I believe the next stage will be the continued reduction in Macro pricing so that it competes with Micro but offer customers much better content.

Carmen · « **Reply #48 on:** January 25, 2016, 11:10 »

Looks like the chinese will eventually buy getty too.

Belish · « **Reply #49 on:** January 25, 2016, 15:12 »

Does anybody know how can I log in to my Demotix account?

Yay Images Billionaire · « **Reply #50 on:** January 27, 2016, 00:36 »

What is the actual deal? This article says VCG are only buying Corbis assets, not acquiring the company itself.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/25/technology/bill-gates-corbis/index.html

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #51 on:** January 27, 2016, 01:34 »

Quote from: imagesbykenny on January 27, 2016, 00:36

What is the actual deal? This article says VCG are only buying Corbis assets, not acquiring the company itself.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/25/technology/bill-gates-corbis/index.html

It also say that Corbis owns all the photos it is transferring, including Tank Man which originated from an Associated Press photographer. I don't know if AP sold tank man to Corbis or not, but they sure as hell don't own my content. If Corbis has full rights to Tank Man and has transferred them to China, then I wouldn't expect it to continue being available via Getty.

cobalt · « **Reply #52 on:** January 27, 2016, 07:09 »

So they bought corbis to influence what the media will see. Although it is true that critical images are probably also available from other companies or the internet, the question is which media agency are chinese journalists allowed to use. If a newspaper restricts them to visuals from vcg, this becomes a useful way of censorship.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #53 on:** January 27, 2016, 18:22 »

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/business/media/with-corbis-sale-tiananmen-protest-images-go-to-chinese-media-company.htm

The story points out that many of the images are not owned by Corbis, they just have the right to license them. There's also some soothing words from VCG, whether or not that means anything in the long run - the plan is the plan until the plan changes being the mantra of many large organizations...

KerinF · « **Reply #54 on:** January 27, 2016, 21:28 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 22, 2016, 16:02

It's not news that Jonathan Klein is a miserable [delete lots of bad words & thoughts], but this tweet about the Corbis acquisition is just hateful:

https://twitter.com/JonathanDKlein/status/690559911252471808

"Almost 21 years but got it. Lovely to get the milk, the cream, cheese, yoghurt and the meat without buying the cow."

KerinF · « **Reply #55 on:** January 27, 2016, 21:30 »

(Oh darn, am I having a luddite moment - I was trying to reply to the quote about Klein's Tweet.) I suspect that the real reason he later deleted this tweet was not because he took on board any lack of sensitivity around his comments, but because his lawyers told him it was just asking for anti-trust authorities to take a look at the deal...if a transaction looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck (or in this case, a cow), fair chance it is a duck (or cow). Given VCG and Getty's already existing commercial relationship, this whole thing seems to smack of a way to ensure assets are held by a non-US company, to try and circumvent anti-trust laws,

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #56 on:** January 28, 2016, 01:57 »

Exactly my thoughts.

Carmen · « **Reply #57 on:** January 28, 2016, 04:25 »

They did not sell splash to the chinese, but splash is empty, all photographers and executives that had a minimum experience in the business are gone, only bean counters are left to run a boat that is clearly sinking. Corporate BS killed Corbis and will soon kill Splash as well. Getty will be owned by the chinese in a very near future.

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