The Stock Artists Alliance publishes Orphan Works 2008 Commentary
Orphan Works is back. Last month, the U.S. Congress held Hearings, making clear that the wheels were again in motion. Last week, it became official when new versions of the Orphan Works Act of 2008 were introduced by both the House and Senate. SAA has published this document to provide an information resource for artists and other members of the visual arts community who will be affected by this legislation, sharing our perspective as the only association dedicated to the interests of professional photographers involved in stock image licensing.
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Val Gelineau, co-founder of the stock image subscription service PhotoSpin, offered 
Jack Hollingsworth’s comments, posted in this space a couple of days ago, provoked a number of comments. Val Gelineau, co-founder of the stock image subscription site, Photospin, offered his take on the challenges photographers face in today’s market. We thought Val’s advice worthy of posting here, where more of our readers are likely to see them. 
Recently asked to give his opinion about the future of stock photography, Jack Hollingsworth offered the following thoughts which we gladly share with our readers. For those who don’t know him, Jack has a long history as a successful stock photographer, creative director and founding partner in several stock photo production companies. We encourage and welcome our readers’ comments on what Jack has to say. "the traditional stock photography model of doing business, as we know it, is on the verge of extinction..."
For several years, Alamy has published a fascinating set of quarterly statistics about the growth and composition of its archive and percentage break-downs of sales components. Details provided in the quarterly reports include numbers of new RF and RM images added to the archive, numbers of images contributed by photographers vs. agencies, average license fees for RM and RF images, and percentages of revenue derived from RM vs. RF licenses. The company’s decision in the third quarter of last year to also make public its actual revenue figures provides an opportunity to analyze its performance in a deeper way and raise questions about the trajectory the combined figures imply.
Since the news broke earlier this week about Getty hiring Goldman Sachs to explore “strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value,” many colleagues and friends in the industry have asked what it all means. In response, I offer the following with the caveat that while the comments all make perfect sense (to me, at least,) much of what follows is pure speculation:
Over the holidays, 
Looking back at 2007 in the stock photo industry, several interesting stories come to the fore. The year started with a bang when news leaked about a possible acquisition of Jupiter by Getty. That deal never happened, but several other high-profile acquisitions did take place last year, from Getty’s acquisitions of WireImage, Punchstock and Pump Audio to the purchase of Veer by Corbis. Jupiter took a break from the stock photo business buying spree of previous years but remained busy developing its events and on-line media segments which included the launch of several new trade shows and the acquisition of MediaBistro.
Getty’s decision to launch a new $49 web-use product earlier this month caused many of us in the industry to scratch our heads. A group of photographer associations articulated the reasons for concern over the move in a 
