….. if they understood what they actually have For two decades, photo agencies have been selling pixels. The price of those pixels has been falling for almost as long, and generative AI has now removed the floor entirely. The conversation inside the industry has narrowed to a single question: howContinue Reading
On March 10, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to demand a new licensing framework for AI training. Across the Atlantic, private data brokers are raising tens of millions to license content directly. Both approaches claim to solve the same problem. Neither does. The Axel Voss resolution passed with 460 votesContinue Reading
The Getty–Shutterstock merger has a real competition problem. It also has no clean remedy. In June 2026, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority will render its final verdict on the Getty Images–Shutterstock merger. Based on everything that has emerged from the investigation, the most likely outcome is a yes, but.Continue Reading
India has implemented a new rule mandating media platforms to label AI-generated content and retain metadata, effective February 20. This regulation reflects a broader trend alongside similar policies in China and the EU, emphasizing the importance of metadata for compliance and authenticity. Platforms must adapt quickly to avoid penalties.Continue Reading
The quest for content authenticity amidst generative AI has led to various solutions, primarily blockchain and centralized platforms. However, these often create access barriers, undermining true distributed trust. Effective trust infrastructure needs universal accessibility, avoiding monetization that limits access. Solutions must resist becoming rent-seeking mechanisms, ensuring long-term and equitable verification systems.Continue Reading
Cloudflare acquired Human Native on January 15, 2026. The London startup had built a marketplace connecting content owners with AI companies seeking training data. The deal completes an 18-month infrastructure build, but the strategic question remains: is Cloudflare operating a toll booth that charges for passage, a warehouse that aggregatesContinue Reading
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority escalated its investigation of the Getty Images-Shutterstock merger to Phase 2 on November 3, 2025, citing concerns about “substantial lessening of competition” and potential for “higher prices” and “lower quality” content for news publishers. Three weeks later, Getty CEO Craig Peters told the FinancialContinue Reading
AI Everywhere, But Not All the Time Every October in San Francisco, where robot taxis are busily roaming the streets, something peculiar happens. The photography industry’s old guard—print manufacturers, stock agencies, software makers—sits down with its new blood: the brilliant engineers building AI-powered photo services, mobile apps, editing tools, andContinue Reading
So, What Do We Mean by “Authentic”? The word has been bounced around a lot lately. Understandably. But under different keyboards, it means entirely different things. We’re using one word for two very different ideas. The “Authentic” Feeling Who talks about authenticity? Marketers. They are painfully obsessed with connecting withContinue Reading
The evolution from cave paintings to written text took millennia. The return journey might just be around the corner Human communication began with images. Long before the first written word, our ancestors painted scenes on cave walls, not as decoration, but as visual communication systems that conveyed complex ideas aboutContinue Reading