Does anyone know what these retards charge for images these days? LOL no wonder their only hope at survival is bullying people into paying thousands for "unauthorized" use of their photos. I found a photo I wanted to use and realized it was like $800 from them. Well that’s about 800 photos from istockphotos or more like an infinite amount from sxc.hu plus an extra $800 in the bank.
Just stop once and look at it from the other side: How much do you think it costs to produce a really good photograph? How much does it cost to go through the process of copy-writing an image? How much should the originator of that image be paid? Should they all work for nothing so some people who feel they deserve a free for all can just use the work of other people?
I think not. As an artist I have been ripped off many times, if I would have had a law machine behind me I would have gone after these guys as well. It is a property rights issue. As the creator I own the intellectual property, as the purchaser of my rights, a Getty type company owns these images.
Yes I 110% agree artists should be paid for their work, and higher quality works should be compensated accordingly. I also agree that you get what you pay for. I am just commenting on their pricing structure (specifically their web usage pricing) because I feel it is out of control compared to the competition. And I bring up their quazi legal enforcement practices because I just plain don't agree with them on it. Copyright laws require one to remove an image if demanded by the owner, but I don't think Getty can demand thousands of dollars if one complies with removing the image.
BTW, a quick check of hoovers.com financials suggests they are thriving, in fact 40% increase in net income this year. So next time Ill look at all the factors before making a post.