Really interesting posts here from Paul Melcher who has been in the biz for years: (Keep in mind he is head of biz development at Stipple) He explains why selling your photographs online might be not a great business plan for the single artist web sites.. you should read all of the posts as they are spot on.
“Publications are no longer the place where photography is consumed, social media is. The so called professional market has become an infinitesimal portion of the marketplace. The big Internet companies have understood it and are waging a take no prisoners battle to control it.”
“Exactly like TV, who creates shows to attract viewers who are then sold to advertisers, photography is used to attract traffic, which in turn, is monetized by advertising. But none of these photos come from a professional photo licensing outlets. Photographers and their photo agencies have been completely overtaken by a marketplace shift that is making them more and more irrelevant. Only two companies have understood this and have recently make deals that will guarantee their future relevance. Shutterstock, by providing images to Facebook’s advertising channel and Getty images, by monetizing their content posted on Pinterest.”
http://blog.melchersystem.com/2013/10/30/escaping-the-wall-gardens/
