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They have been flying under the radar for quite some time. I first learned about them about a year ago. The future of news reporting has arrived.
What is it?
It’s called Demotix. And it is what I consider the most successful user generated news photography syndication there is.
How does it work? When it happens, whatever it may be, who is usually right there at the scene? The people who live the life, attend the event or are on that street in that very moment. Equipped with cameras, video cameras and smart phones. Demotix has build quietly a community of over 17,000 contributors and are delivering user generated content to pretty much all the large news organizations simply because they happen to get the content before anyone else. They have contributors from 190 countries and push work to over 200 news companies. Pretty impressive isn’t it?
It’s genius. Best of all their revenue split is 50:50. I do invite you to review their site as an additional possible revenue source. Be reminded though, that it’s all editorial.
Mark my words, this is the future of syndication especially in the news genre. Why would anyone put photojournalists in offices around the world if I can get my images directly from the source when it happens? This has and will be shaping the industry further. I saw a number the other day that suggested that news outlets use over 50% of user generated visual content.
They seem to be nice enough guys. I personally don’t know of anyone who has direct experience with them but I’ve been watching and it looks solid. If you have ideas or know more, please share your point of view. This definitely made me look, twice.
This company has been around for years and is just another version of a hundred user generated news agencies that have come and gone. They had a spike of success during the Iranian uprising only to be followed by a deep dive into silence. So much so that they have now concluded a deal with Corbis to take over worldwide distribution in exchange for office space in their London office.
That means that royalty are split twice, if not three times before any money comes back to the photographer. With todays editorial rates, that is not a lot.
It is no mystery that user generated news is the ongoing mirage of editorial photography, living off the extremely remote chance that they will be able to grab a scoop here and there to pay for the huge amount of useless images they receive.
In order for them to succeed, they would need a higher, or at least similar brand awareness as Getty images. They are not remotely, nor will they ever be considering how much time and money it took Getty to be where they are now.
Thank you Elizabeth for your detailed insight. Very much appreciated.
Beate