Wireimage to go Free
So this is interesting, I got a notice today from Getty/Wireimage that starting today they will no longer be charging for subscriptions for the pictures. As of December nobody will need to login to view or search for them and presumably download. This is for photos that are 400x600 (hopefully - they usually offer 2 sizes including smaller ones, I really hope that they don't just give us only the smaller ones.)
My sister came up w/ an interesting theory - perhaps this is Getty's way of strong-arming all of these smaller sites that sell LQ photos to just join them and push them out of competition. Wireimage has always had the best rates if you want celeb photos. I spend $25 a month and get unlimited downloads of LQs that have been posted within the past year. Most of the other sites you have to pay by number of downloads - they're pricey in comparison - want an LQ, sure you can buy it - it's $5. Awesome - for $25 I can download hundreds of photos a month on Wireimage, dirtbags. So now if Wireimage is free - why in the hell would people pay for other services?
I also think that they realize that once bloggers put up pics that anyone can grab/share them. They're losing money anyways that way. They're now encouraging businesses to goto Getty directly. I'll be interested to see if they come up w/ any new download rate plans over there, because trust me, I would LOVE to have access to their HQs at a good price.
We'll have to see how the free access goes - if they keep them at 400x600 and then open up their entire library, I'll be very excited. I'd love to get my mitts on their older archives. Although I love the HQs that I get elsewhere, the LQs are nice - they make good blog content and I've been able to use them in my magazines because they're high quality. Anywhoo - I'm happy to have my $25 back in my pocket and will be interested to see the changes as they unfold next month.
My sister came up w/ an interesting theory - perhaps this is Getty's way of strong-arming all of these smaller sites that sell LQ photos to just join them and push them out of competition. Wireimage has always had the best rates if you want celeb photos. I spend $25 a month and get unlimited downloads of LQs that have been posted within the past year. Most of the other sites you have to pay by number of downloads - they're pricey in comparison - want an LQ, sure you can buy it - it's $5. Awesome - for $25 I can download hundreds of photos a month on Wireimage, dirtbags. So now if Wireimage is free - why in the hell would people pay for other services?
I also think that they realize that once bloggers put up pics that anyone can grab/share them. They're losing money anyways that way. They're now encouraging businesses to goto Getty directly. I'll be interested to see if they come up w/ any new download rate plans over there, because trust me, I would LOVE to have access to their HQs at a good price.
We'll have to see how the free access goes - if they keep them at 400x600 and then open up their entire library, I'll be very excited. I'd love to get my mitts on their older archives. Although I love the HQs that I get elsewhere, the LQs are nice - they make good blog content and I've been able to use them in my magazines because they're high quality. Anywhoo - I'm happy to have my $25 back in my pocket and will be interested to see the changes as they unfold next month.