SURVIVAL
by Rocky Kneten

I was driving down one of the streets in Montrose the other day when I spotted one of those unique, non Fortune 500 businesses that exist in what used to be someone's house. It was a fortune teller. Yessirree, I could walk right in and get a peak of the future, 24 hours a day. So I walked in and took a seat across from the gum-chewing psychic.

I asked her about the future of commercial photographers, and she pointed down to her crystal ball. In keeping with an over-hyped TV show, the crystal ball presented an image of a tropical island, populated with two tribes of survivors. One tribe was the FOTOS, an artsy-fartsy group known for their black garb and diversity of talent. The other group was the COBIB, which the crystal revealed to be a merger of two other tribes. The IB, or Image Buyers, were a formerly friendly trading partner. However, they had merged with the Counters-Of-Beans, a more hostile group from the island of Aynal.

The FOTOS, I saw, were the tribe on the run on the island. The FOTOS leaders assembled and asked for damage reports from the various sections of the island. It seems that many common trading posts had become the site of disputes and even skirmishes. I took notes as the story unfolded from the frontline messengers:

PHOTOJOURNALISTS - Heavy casualties here. Big newspaper publishers, such as the New York Times and the Boston Globe used their muscle to force the FOTOS to sign contracts that not only were Work-For-Hire, but gave the papers the same terms over all work produced in the past that exists in the archive. The NYT, a particularly nasty COBIB warrior, finds that it is easier (and cheaper) to infringe on FOTOS copyrights than it is to pay them for such usage. A recent and huge Appeals Council case defeat has not stopped their illegal tactics on the island. The National Geographic, once an idol worshipped by the FOTOS, turned evil under the COB mantra. Casualties remain high on this front due to the entrapment of young, inexperienced FOTOS as well as the idol-struck.

MAGAZINES - The FOTOS had long been in retreat mode here, but a recently energized group of warriors has forced some peace treaties to the table. This highly informed group of warriors, the EP, have created a communications network to expose the shady deals and abuse of materials by the COBIB. However, the TIMEkeeper and the CondŽ Nasty are still viewed with great suspicion as they covet the FOTOS only tangible weapon, the Copyright. They trade aggressively to pay few coconuts for their empire of international editions, anthologies, books, CDs, internet pages, special editions, etc... However, brave FOTOS spies found that the REPRINT was a highly prized COBIB secret, and have intercepted many for a month's wages each.

CORPORATIONS - Messengers report some business-as-usual here, but also some alarming trends. Some COBIB member corporations have stockpiled great quantities of images and no longer see a need to trade with the FOTOS. Other corporations have launched a new project called the website, which needs the products of the FOTOS. Many FOTOS report that their products command a delicious fried rat in trade, but other FOTOS are content with a few dried beetles.

ADVERTISING AGENCIES - Long a highly coveted trading partner, this COBIB component has distinct regional habits on the island. The agency enjoys great fanfare and complex tests of skill, but will often pay handsomely for the effort. However, agencies closest to home are much more frugal. They use an ancient dialect called the "day rate" as well as another tongue known as the "half-day rate" to mystify FOTOS. Occasionally, the Work-For-Hire sword is held over the FOTOS, and reports are that it is an undesirable experience. However, other regions support a partnership with a FOTOS ally, the REP, and trade prices go beyond fried rats to fire sticks and hot showers!

STOCK - Two great COBIB kings have appeared on the scene in recent times. The stock marketplace was once a source of wealth for FOTOS, but these two kings have bought most of the shops in the marketplace. They have discounted the prices of the FOTOS products and raised their own commissions. King GETTY has reduced the revenue to some of the top artisans to about 33%. King GATES, operating under the alias of CORBIS, has long been viewed with great suspicion by the elite MAC unit. He has recently sustained damage due to the NETSCAPE crime he was accused of masterminding. This suspicion may be valid; the CORBIS contract recently called for its own copyright of any digitized form of work in the files (even simply a scan). Sharing a copyright with King Corbis would be bad strategy, if you examine the Netscape incident. Reports have FOTOS looking at a new kind of retail shop, the e commerce collective storefront.

PIRATES - This secretive bunch shoplifts from both the COBIB and the FOTOS. They most often use the electronic approach for their thievery as this new frontier has few law enforcement referees. Many publish scrolls that the © COMPOUND, the strongest defense of the FOTOS, is a relic. They envision a world where there is no protection of intellectual properties, and all will be freely traded. However, late word has it that the guardian of the © COMPOUND, Uncle SAM, has fortified the compound and will judge against those who abuse it (but only if you send him a listing scroll and a small token).

The crystal ball continued to focus on the meeting of the FOTOS. Since the ball was a sophisticated model from Japan, it had a picture-in-picture function that detailed the dynamics of the FOTOS tribe. They had problems with unity, and were often attacked from behind. They often undervalued their assets and lost them in vigorous trading sessions. They grimaced as the COBIB found new and expansive uses for the FOTOS products, but refused to pay them royalties. The weakest FOTOS were often enslaved.....

O.K., enough of the analogy. I hated Survivor, and I came to that conclusion after one episode. But if any of the stories above are unfamiliar to you, then perhaps you've been on an island too long. The commercial photographer business model of the past twenty or so years is extinct. As new markets evolve (and the old ones progress), publishers, agencies, venture capitalists, and stock agencies understand the value of our work. As an aggregate, we don't. I wouldnât be surprised if we all will be working in a Work-For-Hire environment for everything in just a few short years. Stock has become just a commodity, and the price cutting has already begun. Many photographers thought that they could retire on stock income, but is that realistic now? Remember, there is no company pension for the self employed. Are you making enough in your prime years to put dollars away for retirement?

Corporations have huge photo libraries that they share internally, so when do they treat it as an asset to sell or lease? I hear that a Houston ad agency is creating an in-house stock library. We already know that designers and agencies buy royalty-free disks and charge their clients a per-image usage fee. Unethical? Maybe, but smart business for them. It's as if they were handed a profit center for a one time small investment in a disk.

Magazines want to pay a rate from three decades ago and use the print photos on everything from T shirts to hardcover books. Do you know that the business magazines charge thousands of dollars to the featured companies for reprints? That's not editorial anymore; you should get a fee that is representative of advertising rates for your image.

Piracy and infringement abound, both innocent and willful. Simple professionalism will discourage most of this activity. A recent post by an EP member - who helped a picture editor edit a stock call - was appalled at the sloppiness of the submissions. Over 20 packages were received, and only three had documentation of professional standards. Others had no record of how many images were in the package, some had slides with no copyright or name stamped on the mounts, yet others were so sloppily packed that the work just fell out of the packages. If we desire professional respect, is this anyway to get it? And, take advantage of copyright registration. It may be the only way to discourage the mentality of Napster-type trading of intellectual properties.

How do you feel about a collective licensing agency for photography, such as the ASCAP in the music industry? ASMP and at least one other photo trade group have examined this model. Do you support it?

Lastly, know that the world of ourselves and our clients changes overnight with new technology, mergers, and legal proceedings. You cannot exist without knowledge and alliances with your fellow image-makers. Read all you can in the trade journals and web forums about market changes and court cases. Join ASMP, EP, PPA, ADCH, and whatever you can to empower your business. Buy software that aids you in pricing your work and software with professional forms to print. Visit Seth Resnick's site and use it's resources.

It's not so simple as "us against them" on an island, but those who are not empowered will find themselves sacking groceries in their “golden years” at Randall's. Or on an island eating dried beetles.
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