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Devaluation of Images
Royalty Free has also dramatically affected how clients VALUE images. By giving away virtually unlimited rights for anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, RF has diminished both the financial and the creative value of professionally created images for clients. Today, clients working with photographers on assignment increasingly question the costs associated with an image, and more and more are pressuring for lower fees and more rights in commissioned work.
Furthermore, stock distributors give buyers conflicting messages about the “value” of images by representing RM and RF side-by-side on their web sites in printed promotions, and through increased discounting (such as free image downloads and half-off deals). The fallout is that RF has discounted images, both in terms of economic value and what clients perceive as “reasonable” compensation for original photography by both assignment and stock photographers alike.
The producers and distributors of Royalty Free have irrevocably changed the stock industry in just a decade. By flooding the marketplace with a glut of images offered to clients at overgenerous terms, RF has spurred the devaluation of professional photography and created a tougher business environment for professional photographers to make a living.
Thanks to Royalty Free, the stock industry has lost revenues, introduced illogical pricing, created image overload and conflicts and spurred the devaluation of images.
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