STOCK PHOTO DEREGULATION? Since the entry of Clip Art into the stock photo industry, prices have been falling. The airlines industry has experienced similar dynamics. In 1978 there were 250 million passengers. Today there are 650 million. Adjusted for inflation, fares are down 40%. In 1978 only 27% of the flying public had two or more choices of airlines. Now that number is 88%. 50% of the population is flying compared to 25% in 1978. The airlines industry has become a commodity with price as the driver. Similar results are occurring due to the shakedown that the stock photo industry is experiencing. As more photobuyers turn to generic clip art photos, prices are falling while revenues are increasing, worldwide.

WHO ARE THE HEAVY HITTERS? The Internet now provides you with the opportunity to know the traffic at sites on the World Wide Web. Out of curiosity, we consulted Alexa, the tracking service (http://www.alexa.com). It's owned by Amazon.com. The numbers below indicate estimated visitors. Here at PhotoSource International, for example, we are rated at 3,826 visitors daily. A look at random top stock photo houses found:

Corel Corporation (Toronto) 87,849

PhotoDisc (Seattle) 12,002

The Stock Solution (Salt Lake City) 8,427

Photos To Go (New York) 5,540

Corbis Corporation (Bellevue) 4,551

Tony Stone Images (London) 2,810

Artville (Madison) 2,634

Digital Stock (Encinitas) 2,132

Picture Network International (Arlington) 1841

The Image Bank (Dallas) 1,409

The Stock Market Photo Agency (New York) 1,212

Index Stock Photo (New York) 1,140

Tony Stone Images (Seattle) 970

Visual Communications Group (London) 381

PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE BURNED UP with the publisher of CIGAR AFICIANADO who has decreed that assignment work for the magazine will be considered "work for hire". Translate that: The publisher owns all rights to the photos. The company also publishes WINE SPECTATOR and imposes the same constraint for potential photographers. As an independent stock photographer, your stock in trade is your photographs. By selling all rights to a publisher you erase any long-term gain. Will other publishers follow suit? We doubt it.