[Update] Pickerell´s Stock Photo Industry Analysis Now For Free!

In a recent post, Alan Meckler of JupiterImages links to an "opus" that Jim Pickerell wrote yesterday analyzing Getty Images´future (it´s the Story 751 at Pickerell´s website Pickphoto).

Meckler is linking in his blog to the article of Pickerell and writes that

Pickerell's reports are available only to paid subscribers. I have asked the owner [Pickerell] for permission to reprint his pieces and have been granted permission. For readers who want a steady commentary about the stock photo industry I suggest that they subscribe.

Here is the mentioned link to the opus in plain text: http://www.pickphoto.com/articles/article-view3.asp?id=751.

As always the last number, in this case 751, is indicating the story number.

The strange thing, however, is that if you change the story number at the end, let´s say to 750 or 749 or the famous 748 ("Press Releases 2"), you finally are in the position to read all the stories that formerly were requiring a subscription.

I think that the original intention had been that only readers of Meckler´s blog have permission to read only this special Story 751, via a special link or similiar, because "Pickerell's reports are available only to paid subscribers".

PS: Not to be misunderstood, my grandma has paid for this subscription service (it starts at $125.00), so it´s very strange to notice that my very dear grandma, a 82-years old lady, is paying for something which is now available for free.

PS2: The opus mentions "diversified businesses": not a single word in the opus about -- footage. Or, just quoting one of the usual suspects, "the footage industry is set to grow dramatically" and "will increase and over time may approach that for still imagery", so Klein here in the Financial Times and later here.

Getty had revenues in 2004 of $ 34.2m from footage sales; these were effectively 5.5% of the total revenues of $ 622.4m (the average license fee for a clip of stock footage was $ 629 with a final 2004 quarter rise of 25.5% compared with the last quarter of 2003), but compare these 34.2m Getty is generating only with footage to the revenues other companies are generating overall with their RM/RF imagery and identify the companies who are active in this business field at all.

Imagine this might continue. Imagine footage revenues might rise. Then you´ll have a diversified business in one business field -- others haven´t even started to discover footage.

[Update August 30: Alan Meckler has updated his blog entry on August 30,10:54 PM, and deleted the link to the story of Jim Pickerell]