MUMBAI: The Association of Commercial Stock Image Licensors (ACSIL) and Thriving Archives in the US have announced the release of the ACSIL Global Survey of Stock Footage Companies 2 (AGS2). TheAGS2 is an examination of current business conditions within today’s footage industry, providing strategic, action-oriented information and insights to footage industry leaders. The demand for and supply of HD footage are on the rise.
Thriving Archives founder, president David Seevers said, “Assessing the overall health and well being of the footage industry was our top research priority. Based on the performance of the 73 companies in our sample group, the footage industry appears to be in stable condition. Total industry revenue has increased since 2007 and is now estimated at $394 million per year.”
The AGS2 also looks at the impact of digital technology on how footage companies manage, present and deliver footage to the customer; explores how changes in film & video production have affected customer type, demand and need; examines how footage companies market, promote and reach out to customers; and reviews the impact of various trends on the footage industry as a whole.
ACSIL president, HBO Archives director Max Segal said, “ACSIL and Thriving Archives worked together in 2007 to produce the original ACSIL Global Survey of Stock Footage Companies 2007, the first publicly available study of the stock footage industry. Since its publication, the AGS 2007 has been widely used and highly valued by business leaders both inside and outside the footage industry. We’re thrilled to now have not only an update of this groundbreaking market research, but a study that takes our understanding of the footage business to the next level.”
A great deal has changed within the stock footage industry since 2007. For example, the standard transaction paradigm is evolving from a rights-managed model to a rights-managed/royalty-free hybrid and both the demand for and supply of HD footage are on the rise. Digital technology continues to drive shifts in the management, presentation and delivery of footage to the end user. Broadcast-quality digital holdings are increasing and more companies are seeing the light at the end of the digitisation tunnel.
Workflow at the majority of companies is increasingly digital, meaning that for the most part they do not need to access analog footage at any point in the process, including storage, retrieval, screening or final delivery of footage to the client. The footage business continues its migration to the web, and websites are improving as companies get more clips online and add more ecommerce functionality. As might be expected given the levels of investment in digitisation, footage companies have become more productive and average headcount has declined since 2007.
