Stock Photography and Blockchain Finally Fit Together

You don’t need to work in the media or the marketing industry to understand the immense value that visual content brings to the mass distribution. Each day, probably hundreds of photos are displayed in front of us - on social media, on various online or printed ads, on street banners, brochures, flyers and in magazines. Most of this visual content is taken from the stock photography industry; agencies that operate as distributors have the role of curating, sorting and licensing millions of photos (that depict people, objects or places) to all sorts of businesses or users. Stock photography is not used only for marketing, advertising or media, but also for artistic projects and works.

However, this industry is not in a perfect balance; since its inception, in the early 1920s, the stock photography market has changed considerably. Today, artists cannot license their photo directly to customers, but must use these platforms (or agencies) that charge them huge amounts of money. For example, did you know that photographers can get as little as 15% of the price from the content they produce (the industry average is placed between 15-25%)? Known as royalties, these payments represent the compensation offered by one party, that licenses or franchises the right over a work, to another party (so that asset can be used without any issues): Adobe Stock offers a royalty that can reach as high as 35%, while royalties presented by Getty Images or Shutterstock cannot go above the 30% threshold.

But in the end, it’s not only about money! Photographers want to regain control of their photos, to be able to offer them differently (not only for expensive subscriptions or credit acquisitions), to be better represented in this market and to regain the trust and the transparency related to these transactions.

Discover a whole new different approach to stock photography marketplace, with the use of the blockchain technologies

WEMARK
An innovative platform that operates as a community of talented photographers, regaining control of this market. What are the main advantages of becoming part of Wemark?

• 85% royalties! That’s almost three times what most mainstream platform offer. To guarantee and regulate payments, smart contracts are used.
• All transactions are completely transparent, due to the blockchain. Payments are made fast; licenses and photos are all recorded on the immutable database (through the public blockchain)
• Forget the middlemen! Photographers can set correct prices for the content they upload and always know how their photos are used and licensed.

How does it work
As a photographer, you can already join Wemark and enjoy all the benefits we just mentioned. To be a part of this platform and create your own portfolio, just follow these easy steps:

1. Use your email address and a safe password to sign up to your account at Wemark
2. After that, prepare your photos for upload! If you upload images before the 1st of May, you will receive 100% lifetime royalties (only valid for the the first 500 photos added to your account).
3. According to actual regulations, you will also have to upload a copy of your identification documents. You can choose from a national ID, a passport or a driver’s license
4. When all these phases are completed, you only have to send them for further checking. Wemark will verify the information/content you uploaded and will send a notification via email once everything is all set.

Are you ready to support this market transformation or want to learn more about this platform? Visit https://www.wemark.com/ to discover how does the platform operate on the blockchain, find more about the roadmap of the project and the token crowdsale.