iStockphoto Launching Stock Audio

Reprinted from an iStockphoto press release:

Today, iStockphoto, the company that revolutionized the stock photography market by offering images online for prices as low as $1, announced it will add royalty-free audio tracks to its collection of downloadable stock content in September 2008. In so doing, iStockphoto will become the first company to offer stock imagery, video footage, vector illustrations, Flash files and audio for purchase under one payment model, on one convenient site.

iStockphoto is currently looking for composers, performers, musicians and audio technicians to submit music, spoken word/voice, instrumental, ambient and sound-effect audio track submissions. The iStock user community of more than three million members will be able to purchase audio tracks for one to 25 credits each depending on complexity and can be used in Web site production or to complement video footage and presentations. Every time an audio track is downloaded, 2040 percent of the revenue will go to the contributing sound artist.

This business model, known as micropayment, was created by iStockphoto in 2001. It not only fueled the tremendous growth of the company, but has also proven itself to be a great way to provide supplementary and sometimes full-time income for contributing artists. In 2007, the company paid more than $20 million in royalties to its contributors.

Our customers are looking for something that helps them effectively communicate ideas in new and exciting ways, said Bruce Livingstone, founder and CEO of iStock. By adding audio to the mix, we are now able to offer customers a complete palette of multimedia tools from which they can work.

Becoming an iStock Sound Artist:
Sound artist applicants can review a tutorial and take a brief quiz at http://www.istockphoto.com/audio_1.0_intro.php. The artists will then be asked to submit three 530 second audio tracks for review and approval. Once accepted as artists, contributors may submit tracks that range from five seconds to four minutes in length. All tracks will be individually reviewed for quality and legality before being approved for sale. If you are a member of a performing rights organization, (e.g., SOCAN, ASCAP, BMI etc.) anywhere in the world, you are not eligible to submit audio content to iStockphoto, as this precludes the content from being royalty-free. Those who are members of a performing rights organization are welcome to submit to our sister site, Pump Audio, at http://www.pumpaudio.com.

Sound artists can choose to be exclusive immediately and will earn 2040 percent on the sale of each track depending on the number of downloads they have achieved. For more information on the process or music and sound categories, please visit: http://www.istockphoto.com/audio.php

Track Size and Price Points

Size RF
Price/Track
Starting
for as little as:
Simple
Sample
1
credit
$1
Complex
Sample
5
credits
$5
Simple
Composition
15
credits
$15
Complex
Composition
25
credits
$25

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