Alamy Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 PA Media Group, the UK-based news and information business, has acquired Alamy, a leading supplier of stock imagery. Founded 20 years ago, Alamy has one of the world’s most diverse creative and editorial stock imagery collections, comprising almost 200 million photographs, vectors and 360-degree panoramic images. The business has close to 100,000 customers in more than 150 countries, working across a range of sectors including publishing, design, advertising and broadcast. The acquisition sees the PA Media Group enter the stock imagery market for the first time. It also supports the Group’s long-term strategy to diversify its business and consolidate its position as the UK’s leading provider of cross-platform news, sport and entertainment data, content and services. Alamy will complement PA Media Group’s editorial picture syndication business, PA Images, whose archive charts more than 100 years of British history, along with royal, entertainment, sport and news photography. Clive Marshall, Chief Executive of PA Media Group said: “This transformational acquisition will significantly increase our customer base and provide the PA Media Group with a strong presence in the international market for the first time. “Alamy has created a fantastic ecosystem of content creators and content users around a superior e-commerce platform. The acquisition adds real scale and diversity to PA Media Group’s photo services. As a result, customers will have access to a wider, richer image portfolio which combines great editorial and stock imagery, accessible through a global platform. “In addition, this acquisition will further strengthen the financial performance of the company and help secure the future of our core news agency business.” James West, co-founder of Alamy, said: “PA Media Group is a natural home for Alamy. As well as having one of the UK’s most comprehensive photo archives, PA shares our ethos of integrity and quality, and has an excellent reputation built over 150 years. “Alamy can look forward to a fantastic future as part of the PA Media Group.” Here's a short video from James West: Here are some answers to some initial questions you may have: Does this acquisition change anything for me? In terms of commission rates/contracts/processes, etc? No, it doesn’t. Alamy continues to operate as usual. Alamy prides itself on offering a better commission rate than most other agencies. Will PA Media Group continue to offer the same commission rates to Alamy’s existing contributors? There are no plans to change that. How do PA Images’ commission rates compare with Alamy’s? The two businesses operate different models – for instance, PA Images’ relationships are mainly with agencies while Alamy works with a wider community of individual photographers. As such, there is no like-for-like comparison between the two business’ payment structures. Are there plans to reach parity? If so, in what direction? There is no like-for-like comparison between Alamy’s and PA Images’ payment structures. The two businesses continue to operate separately. Are Alamy’s contributor images going into the PA Images archive? Alamy’s and PA Images’ archives will sit alongside each other. There are no plans to add Alamy’s portfolio to the PA Archive. Will Alamy’s contributor images be distributed via the PA newswire? There are no plans to distribute Alamy’s contributor imagery via the PA newswire. Will Alamy content be sold by PA Images? At present, Alamy contributor sales continue to be managed within the Alamy platform and via Alamy’s distributors. However, ways of working will be reviewed over the coming months and we will consider what elements to integrate and which to keep separate. Will there be any change to the way rights are managed? No, there will not. The PA Media Group has long history of building successful relationships with photographers and photography agencies and ensuring that rights are managed. For the full FAQ on the above announcement, please visit the following page: https://pamediagroup.com/faqs-pa-media-group-acquires-alamy/ Best, Alamy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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