Flickr and Getty Partnership ‘Terminated’ as Existing Content Agreement Expires

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According to an email forwarded to us by one of our readers, the Getty Images/Flickr partnership that the photo agency and Yahoo!-owned photo sharing service struck up in July of 2008 has officially been terminated.

With nary a whisper of this move coming, we were very surprised when, about an hour ago, we received a tip from one of our readers that included a detailed email from Getty Images to its contributors regarding the end of the Getty/Flickr partnership.

Originally announced in 2008 (before this blog even existed…) the partnership has been going strong for almost 6 years now as Getty scoured the Flickr archives and invited contributors into its network. The little “license this photo on Getty Images” notice is a frequent find on talented photographers’ Flickr profiles.Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 3.02.18 PM

This, it seems, is coming to an end. “Today we are announcing that we provided notice to terminate our existing agreement with Flickr,” reads the email. “Our original agreement reached its end, and while we continue to be open to working with Yahoo!/Flickr, we have not agreed to a new agreement at this time.”

The email goes on to list out the changes contributors can expect now that the partnership is over, how this might affect their accounts and how they should submit their work for consideration from now on.

Rather than summarize those points inadequately here (which would likely prompt more questions than we provide answers) we are reprinting the entire email at the bottom of this post.

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For now, if you’re a Getty Flickr contributor, their advice is to sit tight and check for updates frequently:

What should you do? Please watch for more news and information in our Getty Images Contributors Group on Flickr and watch for important emails. Check your Contact information! Please make sure the e-mail address and other contact information we have for you is up to date so we can include you in our communications. You can do this by logging in to the Upload Portal at contribute.gettyimages.com and clicking on “Update your profile” in the “Account Management” section.

Additional info provided by our tipster includes the fact that royalties will stay the same (RF: 20%, RM: 30%) and that the Flickr collections will simply be renamed ‘Moment’ collections. For example: Moment RF, Moment RM, Moment Open, Moment Select, Moment Vision and Moment Mobile. We’ll be sure to up keep you updated as more info comes in.

So far, no official updates have been posted to either of the companies press rooms or blogs, but we have reached out to Getty Images for comment and will update this post as soon as any official confirmation comes in.


Here is the email, reprinted in full:

Today we are announcing that we provided notice to terminate our existing agreement with Flickr. Our original agreement reached its end, and while we continue to be open to working with Yahoo!/Flickr, we have not agreed to a new agreement at this time.

Your status as a contributor to Getty Images is unchanged by this news. Your current agreement with Getty Images remains the same and agreements will NOT be terminated by us as a result of this change, no matter how few images you have on gettyimages.com.

For the last 5 years we have been very proud to provide a global platform for the work of Flickr artists, celebrating their originality and talent with our customers around the world. Those of us who are directly involved with the Flickr collection have thoroughly enjoyed and been inspired by our experience working within the Flickr community. Built to represent the best in authentic, spontaneous photography selected through social sharing, Getty Image’s Flickr collection has grown to be a tremendous success. We have never been more committed than we are now to expanding on what we’ve started together.

What Will Change? Here are some highlights—with details to follow in the coming days and weeks:

  • Welcome to Moment: The Flickr Collection will form the basis of a new house collection called Moment.
  • Moment Mobile: Our new Moment-Mobile App provides another way for you to participate by submitting images shot on your mobile device. All Flickr collection contributors will be invited. (iOs only for now-Andriod to come). We are very pleased with the launch and early results from our Moment App, which is now being used by 3,500 contributors from 100 countries who have so far have submitted more than 30,000 images through the app.
  • Curators: Flickr curators will continue and expand their role in identifying the best social content from a wider range of sources which, alongside our Moment App, will further grow our Moment collections.
  • The Upload Portal you are already familiar with will be updated to accommodate a slightly different workflow (see below) but your log-in will remain the same.
  • You will be in control. Since we will not be using the systems built for the Flickr partnership, we will no longer be searching and browsing through photostreams or Artist Picks looking for images and inviting them. Instead, you will be using the same procedure as all our other Getty and iStock contributors and submitting full-sized, captioned and released images to us for review and selection.
  • Support: Communication and daily guidance will continue via our Getty Images Contributor Community website and forum. We will be sending out a welcome e-mail containing the URL and your log-in credentials. These emails will begin shortly and continue over the next few weeks until everyone is covered.
  • Creative Research: You will have access to our proprietary research briefs on an ongoing basis
  • Range of Products: You will have access to be reviewed for submissions to our other collections where appropriate including editorial, video, Photos.com, our new platform for wall décor, print sales, and more.

What should you do? Please watch for more news and information in our Getty Images Contributors Group on Flickr and watch for important emails. Check your Contact information! Please make sure the e-mail address and other contact information we have for you is up to date so we can include you in our communications. You can do this by logging in to the Upload Portal at contribute.gettyimages.com and clicking on “Update your profile” in the “Account Management” section.

Thank you for all of your wonderful images and support over the past five years! We look forward to moving ahead with Moment, and with each and every one of you. — The Getty Images Creative Team

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