Royalty Free or Rights Managed?
The two most common licensing models for stock photography are Royalty Free and Rights Managed. Royalty Free grants non-exclusive, unlimited use of an image, while Rights Managed grants exclusive, time-limited, and geographic-specific use.
It is important to consider the intended use of a stock photo before choosing the license type. Is it for a small business running a local ad, or is it part of a high-dollar, nationwide marketing campaign? RF would likely suit the local advertisement well, while RM would be the logical choice for a high-profile campaign.
Inexplicably, this bit of logic is often overlooked.
Consider the following scenario:
You're a designer and you've been tasked with creating an advertisement for a major software firm. You require a photo of a successful businessman with a broad smile to place in the advertisement for their software. Budget-minded designer that you are, you browse your favorite royalty free stock photo provider and find the perfect photograph. You buy the photograph and incorporate it into your client's marketing materials. The client loves it and everyone is happy... that is until they see the exact same photo of the smiling businessman in an ad promoting male enhancement tablets!
This situation was reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and whether or not it is factual, it presents an eye-opening (and amusing) scenario.
Another similar situation occurred with two major computer manufacturers, Gateway and Dell. As part of back-to-school marketing campaigns, both companies ran ads using similar Royalty Free photos of the same young female student on a college campus. Not only did this cause major embarrassment for both companies, it also created brand dilution. Which ad was which?
Both situations could have been avoided had the marketing firms made better licensing choices. With Rights Managed stock, which provides exclusive use of photographs for a specified period of time, competing companies (or even non-related companies, could not have used the same stock photos.
Royalty Free is no doubt a great value, especially with the proliferation of microstock companies, but it comes at a price. Low cost and non-exclusive, unlimited use can create overexposure of stock photos.
Rights Managed stock can be quite expensive. But it comes with the assurance that you, and only you, will be using the image.
It is important to weigh the pros and cons of each licensing model, as well as the scope and importance of the intended use, when selecting stock photography.
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