Shutterstock Announces Acquisition of BigStockPhoto
Move signals Shutterstock's expansion into the credit-based stock photo market
PRESS RELEASEPRWEB September 23, 2009 — Shutterstock, the world's largest subscription-based stock photo agency, announced that it has acquired BigStockPhoto, a leading credit-based stock photo agency, headquartered in Davis, California. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“BigStockPhoto is a leader in the stock photo industry, and an excellent fit for Shutterstock as we expand into thecredit-based market,” said Jon Oringer, founder and CEO of Shutterstock. “This addition will enable Shutterstock to better satisfy the diverse payment preferences of stock photo buyers worldwide.“
According to the deal, BigStockPhoto will remain a separate entity, and Shutterstock plans to grow the company's global presence by investing heavily in marketing, infrastructure and user experience.
BigStockPhoto was founded in 2004 to provide an alternative to high-priced stock photography, and to create a marketplace for photographers to sell their work. In addition to its diverse library of 3.7 Million royalty-free photos and vectors, the agency has created a vibrant community of image buyers and submitters from around the world.
About Shutterstock®
Founded in 2003, Shutterstock is the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world. Its outstanding collection of premium photos, illustrations, and vectors combined with a selection of innovative, user-friendly subscription plans has made Shutterstock a trusted resource for an expanding global customer base. An industry pioneer in selling royalty-free stock by subscription, Shutterstock was also the first online photo agency to offer editorial photos and launch a video library. Shutterstock Footage offers a comprehensive library of royalty-free video clips available on a per-clip basis or by subscription. For more information, visit Shutterstock.com.
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From the BigStock's Forum:
Dear BigStockPhoto Buyers and Contributors,Above is a huge announcement regarding the acquisition of BigStockPhoto by Shutterstock.We have been looking for ways to grow BigStockPhoto far beyond it's current status and we are thrilled to have the expertise of Jon Oringer and the entire Shutterstock team taking us there. BigStockPhoto has grown to the point where it needs infrastructure and guidance to grow significantly, and we feel that Shutterstock is the perfect team to help us get there. I will continue to run the site in the same manner as before, so you probably won't feel any changes right away.
Dawn and I want to thank everyone for your incredible support and participation at BigStockPhoto over the years, and to encourage you to become even more involved as BigStockPhoto grows to the next exciting level.
With gratitude,
Tim and Dawn Donahue
BigStockPhoto
Just observed today that BigStockPhoto has overtaken Stockxpert in the Alexa Rank… and an investment boost could be a good thing for BigStock's contributors.
Talking about Alexa, here a joke with Rank numbers:
istockphoto + stockxpert = 342 + 6239 = 6581
shutterstock + bigstock = 1208 + 5347 = 6555
Big relevance was given, i.e. also PDN and CNET report the announcement. Fast Company Magazine interviews Jon Oringer on Shutterstock's acquisition of BigStockPhoto
4 Comments
Hi Roberto! A big applause to SS, let's hope that this will bring more sales on BIG!
cheers!
Let's hope! Waiting for details but they say will invest in marketing and infrastructure
I am sure it will increase 🙂
Thinking about the "future and possible joining of both" I think it is very unlikely because SS and BIG have very different quality standards unless they review again BIG photos from contributors!
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