FM, the company that manages creative-centered brands, including Musicbed and Filmsupply, recently launched a new brand and service: Stills.
Stills is an invite-only platform offering first-class and highly curated images with custom licensing options, profiling itself as a better alternative for today's most popular stock photo agencies.
Read on for more details on what this new provider in stock images brings to the table.
Stills: Invite-Only, Premium Content, Custom Licensing
If we sum up the Stills offer in one word, it would be exclusivity. This brand clearly aims to give designers and advertisers the cream of the top in image licensing by adding a veil of exclusivity on every front of its service.
For starters, in this initial phase, the platform is invite-only, and you must leave your email to request an invite if you want a chance to see what they have.
Although we can’t yet see it, the company emphasizes its visual content's uniqueness and high quality. Not only do they mention their roster is full of A-class photographers with a large reach and the experience and artistry to produce on-trend, authentic photos (Nirav Patel, Jake Wangner, Lindsey Swedick, Omar Salah, Samuel Elkins, and Charly Savely have been name-dropped already), but also state their tight curation process which accepts only 1% of all submissions –this is something other stock photo agencies have been doing for a while. Photocase, for example, has had a similarly strict curation process since its origins back in 2001 and has always been a library with exclusive, authentic, and out-of-the-box content.
For artists, the VIP offer comes in the form of above-market average royalty rates –although how high is above-market hasn’t been disclosed at this time.
Finally, licensing models. Stills seems to have different membership options, some giving access to a premium selection called “The Vault,” containing images with limited licensing availability based on “demand and uniqueness.” Furthermore, they include a “market freeze” option for some of their files, allowing customers to acquire exclusive usage rights for a certain period –something Getty Images and similar companies have been doing for years, which usually comes at a considerable cost.
No pricing points for the service have been revealed yet.
FM: A Self-Described Disruptive Company
FM is the umbrella company that handles five creative-oriented brands. Besides the newly added stock imagery platform Stills, they’re also behind independent record label firm Label, funding and distribution service for filmmakers Trust, and, within our industry, stock music service Musicbed and stock footage provider Filmsupply.
All these brands have been intensely profiled as unique and disruptive within their markets. They incorporate some distinctive features in each service, although the overall services aren’t that different from other online options.
With Stills, they are highlighting a contrast between the existing stock imagery offered by established competitors like Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Adobe Stock, which they deem as “lackluster,” and their trendy and super exclusive alternative. Quite bold.
Are you intrigued by Stills? Will you request an invite? Share your thoughts!
