SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2014) - Calling all photographers! Pixels.com has launched a new image licensing marketplace, and you're in control.
In an industry dominated by large corporations, low prices, and low commissions, photographers are often left powerless when it comes to controlling how their images are priced and licensed. Answering the call for better options and a new business model is Pixels.com founder, Sean Broihier. Pixels.com is a fundamental departure from the status quo in which photo service sites, such as Getty Images and Shutterstock, dictate low prices to their photographers and then compensate them with a small percentage of those prices -- typically around 20 percent.
Pixels.com allows photographers to set their own prices, control which licenses they want to sell (royalty-free or rights-managed), and even create their own custom licenses with their own terms and conditions. The business was inspired by the success of Broihier's print-on-demand business, FineArtAmerica.com, which is home to hundreds of thousands of artists and photographers who sell their images as canvas prints, framed prints, greeting cards, and more. FineArtAmerica.com allows artists and photographers to set their own prices for physical goods, and Broihier sees image licensing as a natural extension of this established, successful business model.
"The Pixels.com value proposition is clear -- photographers chose which licenses they want to sell, set their own prices for those licenses, and then we showcase their images on an established marketplace that already receives 10+ million visitors per month," said Broihier. "To cover our costs, we simply mark up the prices that are set by the photographers. We did it for prints -- now we're doing it for image licensing."
Do the Math
Pixels.com takes the price that is set by the photographer and marks it up 30 percent. The photographer earns the set price, and Pixels.com earns the markup. If a photographer sets his/her price at $100 for a royalty-free license, Pixels.com marks that up to $130.00. When it is purchased, the photographer keeps $100, and $30 goes to Pixels.com. In this example, the photographer takes home 77 percent of the sale price.
Views from Behind the Lens
"Photographers need as many outlets for their work as possible and Pixels.com gives them the flexibility to control their own prices and keep the majority of the license fee the customer pays. It's a great solution for photographers." Michael Grecco, Director, Photographer and Advocate
"Pixels.com is the whole package -- I self-manage my images, specify my licenses and pricing and can create custom licenses per image if I desire. I've sold my images online for many years and no other photo service site compares to what I'm offered through Pixels.com. Pixels.com is empowering successful photographers to make a living at this -- it's my dream website." James Bo Insogna, Bo Insogna Fine Art Photography
"Pixels.com is a game-changer for successful artists looking to image licensing as a new avenue for selling their work. Personally, I have licensed images of my artwork in the past and not only are the options limited, but the back and forth contract signings and negotiations are frustrating. Pixels.com is based on a proven and successful business model that I'm already familiar with through FineArtAmerica." Ken Powers, Powers Fine Art
Why it Works
Pixels.com's unique business model has opened up the image licensing industry to the world's most talented artists and photographers. Many of these artists and photographers have sold on FineArtAmerica.com since 2006 but were hesitant to try image licensing due to the industry-standard low prices and commissions.
"Artists and photographers are understandably frustrated with being dictated to by the leading companies in the image licensing space," added Broihier. "We're changing that. If you're an artist or photographer, you should be able to dictate the price for your images. This doesn't have to be a race to the bottom."
For buyers, Pixels.com offers millions of images that can't be found anywhere else online along with an easy-to-use search engine that allows them to quickly find images based on license type, medium, orientation, color, and more. "If you want to find an image of a painting that can be licensed to use on the cover of a book, you can do that in two clicks," added Broihier. "Due to our flexible pricing system, we've attracted artists and photographers who simply refuse to license their images anywhere else."
For more information, visit http://licensing.pixels.com/.
About Pixels.com
Pixels.com is an online image licensing marketplace that enables artists and photographers to self-manage their images, prices and licenses. With over 10 million visitors per month, the site features millions of photographs, paintings and illustrations, which can be licensed royalty-free and rights-managed from the world's greatest artists and photographers. Due to the flexible nature of Pixels.com's pricing and licensing system, the site has accumulated millions of unique, high-quality images from artists and photographers.
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