News
ibid closing its doors after forty years
Last week, we received a comment from San Francisco photographer Jeff Singer concerning our story about Jupiterimages offering photographers from its micro-stock site, StockXpert.com, the opportunity to have their images distributed through one of Jupiter’s signature RF brands, Dynamic Graphics. Singer laments the declining standards of both clients and suppliers in our industry that, from his perspective, this development epitomizes. As further evidence of the difficulty the current environment poses for professional photographers, he cites the news that ibid, a boutique agency founded with uniquely high artistic standards in 1966 and known for its magnificent archive of contemporary black and white photography, will cease operating as a business at the end of this year.
Singer posted on his own blog the following email, which he received, we presume, as a contributor to ibid:
September 27, 2007
Dear ibid Photographer,
It is with deep regret but a clear head that I must inform you that ibid will cease operations as of December 31, 2007. We will continue to collect on any outstanding sales made prior to that date and will forward payment to you in the usual time frame. As of January 1, 2008, ibid relinquishes any right and license which it had to publish and market for commercial use your photographs, and beginning as of January 1, 2008, you are free to allow anyone else to use your photographs for any commercial use whatsoever. As of the end of the calendar year all of ibid’s license agreements with its photographers are terminated.
I have decided it is time to face the new reality of the stock photo industry. After forty years of a very good run it is no longer a business environment in which ibid can reasonably exist without cannibalizing its collection. We simply cannot compete with the giants that outsell us by undercutting prices and have successfully turned lower standards into the art buyer’s habit and necessity. In short, we have become an anachronism; too excellent for mediocre times.
Each and every image that has ever graced the ibid collection has been an outstanding expression of the great art of photography. We thank you for the honor of representing your work and wish you the fame and fortune you all deserve.
Sincerely,
Joann Shapiro
President, ibid
As of this writing, ibid has not returned calls for comment.
Click here to see Jeff Singer’s entire post about this matter on his own blog.
Posted in: Micropayment Stock Photography, News, Photographers, Stock Photo Companies
Comments(1)
post a comment »Jeff Burak, October 03, 2007 [#]
Very unfortunate to see an agency known for quality content close its doors. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Though the press release notes a changing reality for stock photography, I still firmly believe there is a place for quality imagery and with the advent of a myriad distribution models and channels it only requires creativity to link in [and a streamlined cost structure too]. It seems IBID took such steps by seeking representation through other agencies and reached out to a strong third party for their technology, but perhaps they also weren’t willing to experiment with different licensing models. As evident by a story in today’s Wall Street Journal, regarding Wal-Mart, low-price trends typically lead to a demand for quality. And Ibid has quality. The challenge of course is Ibid’s ability to manage a cost structure scaled to the economic environment. This is another issue all together which only Ibid knows. Forty years ain’t bad though and in many cases small businesses come to a point where they have to decide “is it all worth it?” After forty years they’ve earned the right to say, “it’s been great and I don’t want to reinvent my business.” Either way, congratulations to the Shapiro’s for managing a business with their heart and soul. I hope your integrity earned you a couple bucks over the years. It would be a shame if it didn’t.