When Getty Wins, We All Win

I’ve been hating on Getty for years. They sponsor a few grants and buy their way into a few photo festivals and pretty much silence all their opposition. Meanwhile Cassandra over here is likened to the old man yelling at the kids to get off his lawn.

Well, enough of that…

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Getty hands Google users free commercial images. Photographers get $12.

This is a great opportunity and you’re all so stupid for not recognizing that! Twelve whole dollars for an image (or is it six?) and all I have to do is upload my snaps and wait for the monthly checks to arrive?

AWE-SOME!

Obviously none of you realize how much Ramen Noodles you can get for six dollars. Face it.

You’ve all had a good run, but your time has passed. The world no longer belongs to you, your fancy cameras, your outmoded ideals about ownership, copyright, private property, your work ethic, and high professional standards are so 20th century. Everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish can now be easily duplicated by a Hipster with an iPhone. Furthermore, he or she (Hipsterette?) can do all this with one hand in their pocket.

What a bunch of pussies. That legacy, that archive, you desperately cling to… you didn’t build that. If it wasn’t for the good people over at Getty, and Google (who I see now owns Nik Software, wonder what that’s about?) people wouldn’t even know who you are. They created this market. They built the roads that the customers travel on to find your work. You should be grateful, instead all I hear is a bunch of complaints.

How much money do you need? At some point you’re just being greedy. Stop your whining, shut your mouth, get an Xbox and move back into your parents basement already.

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Okay, that’s passed. Now seriously, if you’ve had any dealings with Getty, you’re part of the problem and you have nobody to blame but yourself. At least the staffers get a regular salary, camera gear, maybe some benefits to justify the trade-off. The rest of you have no excuse, and this goes for all my dear friends who market their work through Getty (or Corbis for that matter).

Photoshelter is an excellent option and there are still a few mom & pop photo agencies out there. Start a co-op, work together, protect your work and set the terms for how you profit from it.

And for gosh sakes, I just threw some seed down, get the hell off my lawn!