One of the world's largest purveyors of stock photographs just put 35 million of its images out there for free public use through embeds (albeit for non-commercial purposes).
This is a fascinating development, and I find this to be an extremely pragmatic move on the part of Getty. Perhaps they have learned from the trauma-filled experience of the music companies. Let's be real- people have been ripping off images for years. This at least directs some web traffic back to Getty.
I rather like it.
Bloggers and other re-users of digital images are surely similarly thrilled.
But how do photographers and artists feel about this? Likely a mixed bag...
Perhaps because I am not in a position to make millions off of my creative work, I tend to be on the side of exposure. It's all about getting your stuff out there so someone can interact with it. Otherwise, what is the point?
This is a fascinating development, and I find this to be an extremely pragmatic move on the part of Getty. Perhaps they have learned from the trauma-filled experience of the music companies. Let's be real- people have been ripping off images for years. This at least directs some web traffic back to Getty.
I rather like it.
But how do photographers and artists feel about this? Likely a mixed bag...
Perhaps because I am not in a position to make millions off of my creative work, I tend to be on the side of exposure. It's all about getting your stuff out there so someone can interact with it. Otherwise, what is the point?