MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => Off Topic => Topic started by: Uncle Pete on April 25, 2019, 08:55
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http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190423-how-the-paparazzi-make-their-money (http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190423-how-the-paparazzi-make-their-money)
Some interesting parallels with stock photography and along the same lines and times.
The global financial crisis and the rise of online media finally killed the gold rush. Digital media increased the demand for celebrity photographs but decreased the price media companies were willing to pay for them. Photo agencies began to consolidate or go out of business, and the remaining ones changed their business model. Instead of making magazines pay per photo, they offered a subscription service: publishers could use as many photos as they wanted to fulfill the greater demand for cheaper shots. As a result, paparazzi are paid a small fraction of the subscription fee; how much depends on how many of their pictures are used each month. That means an exclusive “Just Like Us” photo that would have fetched $5,000 to $15,000 before, now pays only $5 or $10.
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The livelihood of the average paparazzo is threatened by major changes in the publication industry. The photographers manage idiosyncratic risk by forming unstable alliances, but the larger systematic risk that could wipe out their jobs is harder to manage. They could form a union and demand better terms from the agencies, but historically they struggle to cooperate with one another. And the paparazzi are not the only ones who face the risk that their jobs will no longer be viable.
Sounds like our discussions here in other threads when trying to figure out how to apply pressure for higher photographer income.